Sale 1082 — The William Fekete Collection
Sale Date — Tuesday-Wednesday, 21-22 October, 2014
Category — Columbian, 1st Bureau, Trans-Mississippi and Pan-American Issues
1c Columbian, Imperforate (230 var). Original gum, h.r., large margins, deep rich color, Very Fine and very rare, ex Colonel Green, with 1952 A.P.S. certificate, unlisted in Scott
2c Columbian, Imperforate (231 var, formerly 231b). Vertical pair, unused (regummed), full to huge margins, pressed creases (all known examples have flaws), Very Fine appearance, one ungummed damaged sheet was discovered in New York City in 1900, we have offered only one other pair since keeping computerized records, it had smaller margins and realized $3,500 in our 2013 World's Fair sale, with 1994 P.F. certificate as No. 231b, unlisted in Scott
4c Columbian (233). Mint N.H. bottom imprint, plate no. 18 and letter "D" block of eight, radiant color, two stamps light natural gum bend, Fine-Very Fine
4c Columbian, Error of Color (233a). Original gum, deep rich color in the darker of the two shades, small thin spotsVERY FINE APPEARING UNUSED EXAMPLE OF THE 4-CENT COLUMBIAN COLOR ERROR.
The 4c Columbian color error was caused by the use of a wrong batch of ink, and spectrographic analysis has shown that the blue inks of the 4c error and 1c Columbian have the same components.
Stamps from at least two panes reached collectors, and the few cancelled examples indicate that stamps used by the public came from additional panes. It is likely that a number of full sheets were printed using the wrong ink, and most of the stamps have simply been lost to philately.
With 1992 P.F. certificate
6c Columbian (235). Mint N.H. bottom imprint, plate no. 104 and letter "Z" block of eight, bright shade, detailed impressionVERY FINE AND CHOICE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF EIGHT OF THE 6-CENT COLUMBIAN ISSUE.
Scarce in such choice condition.
6c Columbian, Imperforate (235 var). Large margins to full, original gum, h.r., bright shade, Very Fine and very rare, ex Colonel Green, with 1952 A.P.S. certificate
$2.00 Columbian (242). Original gum, lightly hinged, bright shade, fresh and Fine, with 1992 P.F. certificate
$5.00 Columbian (245). Original gum, intense shade and impression, reperfed at bottom, Very Fine appearance
$5.00 Columbian (245). Detailed impression, neat strike of Washington D.C. circular datestamp, Very Fine, a pretty stamp
Columbian Issue Covers. Ten, seven used on either Columbus Day (5 incl. 8c, 6c, 4c, 3c and 1c), Chicago Day (3c) or Manhattan Day (5c) cacheted entires, one with Chile entire, also 3c on 2c entire to England, 2c entire with Wells, Fargo printed frank, overall fresh and Fine-Very Fine
Columbian Issue Exposition Tickets. 15, different colors and vignettes, with Manhattan Day, Chicago Day, children's special ticket, one or two small toned spots, Fine-Very Fine group
3c-10c 1894 Bureau Issue, Imperforate (253a, 254a, 255b, 258a). Complete set of singles with top or bottom sheet margins, original gum, large margins, 10c with small thin spot entirely in sheet margin, fresh and Very Fine set, only these four denominations of the unwatermarked set are known imperforate, each with 1989 P.S.E. certificate, unpriced as singles
1c-10c 1894-95 Bureau Issue, Imperforate. Six pairs, incl. 264a, 253a, 269a, 270a, 272b and 258a, 3c and 10c unused (no gum) and thins, 5c part original gum, others original gum, large margins, rich colors, Very Fine appearance, 8c with 2004 P.S.E. certificate
$1.00 Black, Ty. II (261A). Original gum, narrow h.r. at top, intense shade on bright paper, Very Fine, with 1988 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Black, Ty. I, $2.00 Bright Blue (276, 277). Original gum, $1.00 lightly hinged, well-centered, tiny perf tip thin not mentioned on accompanying certificate, Very Fine appearance, with 1983 P.F. certificate, $2.00 slightly disturbed gum, attractive margins, small thin and light diagonal crease, appears Fine
$5.00 Dark Green (278). Original gum, redistributed over small thins, choice centering, Very Fine appearance
Booklet Panes. Five panes, incl. 279Bk, 300b (Mint N.H.), 301c (some perf separations) and 319Fg (two), two Position E, overall fresh and Fine-Very Fine
1c-$1.00 Trans-Mississippi (285-292). $1.00 unused (regummed), few others either disturbed original gum or regummed, rich colors, few small faults, Fine-Very Fine appearing group
1c-$2.00 Trans-Mississippi (285-288, 290-291, 293). $2.00 disturbed original gum, others mostly original gum, few faults, appear Fine
1c-10c Trans-Mississippi (285-290). Imprint and plate no. pairs, 1c and 4c bottom, others top, 1c and 2c part original gum, others mostly lightly hinged, 10c natural gum bends and crease, Fine-Very Fine, 5c with 1992 P.S.E. certificate
8c Trans-Mississippi, Vertical Pair, Imperforate Horizontally (289a). With right selvage, original gum, lightly hinged, deep rich color, wide margins, few natural gum creases as almost alwaysVERY FINE. A DESIRABLE PAIR OF THE 8-CENT TRANS-MISSISSIPPI ISSUE IMPERFORATE HORIZONTALLY, WITH WIDE SHEET SELVAGE AT RIGHT.
According to the Neil-Rosenthal book (pp. 115-118), one pane of 50 was discovered by Robert Watts, a stamp clerk at one of the sales windows at the Philadelphia General Post Office, who found it between the wrapping paper of a bundle of stamps. He sold it for double face value ($8.00) to Herman Lewis, a locksmith in Philadelphia. Lewis soon sold it to William S. F. Pierce, who broke it into three pieces: a vertical strip of ten with sheet margin and full arrow at right, a vertical block of 20 containing both plate blocks, and a vertical block of 20 with natural straight edge at left.
The block of ten was reportedly sold for $15.00 and was taken to Europe when the owner moved there. It returned to the U.S. in the 1930's, when it was broken. The vertical block of 20 with straight edge at left was sold to Arthur E. Tuttle, a Philadelphia stamp dealer, who retailed them for $10.00 per pair. The block of 20 with both plate numbers was retained by Pierce, who later sold the top and bottom plate blocks to Albert Batchelder of the New England Stamp Co. for $175.00. The pair offered here comes from the first block.
10c Trans-Mississippi (290). Used with 1c, 2c and 5c, tied by New York registry ovals on cover to France, appropriate transit markings, few toned spots, Fine and colorful, also accompanied by 1c on cover with Omaha machine cancel with Trans-Mississippi Exposition Dept. of Publicity and Promotion seal
50c Trans-Mississippi (291). Mint N.H. wide top imprint and plate no. 603 pair, rich colorFRESH AND FINE. A SCARCE MINT NEVER-HINGED IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER PAIR OF THE 50-CENT TRANS-MISSISSIPPI ISSUE.
With 1994 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Trans-Mississippi (292). Original gum, single hinge mark, detailed impression, Very Fine
$1.00 Trans-Mississippi (292). Bottom imprint and plate no. 606 pair, lightly hinged, few perf separations, Fine and scarce plate no. multiple, an excellent alternative to a plate block of four which catalogues $37,500.00
$2.00 Trans-Mississippi (293). Slightly disturbed original gum, rich color, small thin spots, Very Fine appearance
$2.00 Trans-Mississippi (293). Bottom wide imprint and plate no. 613 pair, original gum, h.r. incl. one in selvage where few perf separations sensibly reinforced, minor soiling between stamps and at upper right, otherwise Fine and scarce multiple, the plate block of four catalogues $90,000.00
1c-10c Pan-American (294-299). Group of six unused singles and two blocks of four, showing interesting vignette shifts, all denominations present except 5c and 8c, nice variety incl. sinking and slow ocean ship, fast train, high train, sinking lake ship, etc., Fine group
2c Pan-American (295). Exceptional printing freak showing "half train", unused (no gum), Fine and rare, when the vignette printing occurred the paper was folded over so that only half the train was printed, the paper was then unfolded before the frame printing occurred, this is extremely unusual as sheets like this would normally be removed by inspectors before release to a post office, we have not encountered an example this dramatic before, with 1995 A.P.S. certificate
10c Pan-American (299). Bottom imprint and plate no. 1151 strip of four, right stamps Mint N.H., left stamps lightly hinged, choice centering, vertical crease thru pos. 2, Very Fine appearance
1c Pan-American, Center Inverted (294a). Slightly disturbed original gum, deep rich colors and proof-like impressions, nice margins and centeringVERY FINE AND CHOICE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT.
The 1c Pan-American Inverts were found in at least four different post offices around the country, soon after release of the issue in May 1901.
With 1985 P.F. certificate
2c Pan-American, Center Inverted (295a). Bright colors, perfs barely touched at topFINE AND ATTRACTIVE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT.
The 2c is the rarest of the three Pan-American Inverts. It is surmised that approximately 200 were issued through the post office, with two distinct shades known. Our Levi records contain the intact block (4), reconstructed block (4), 64 unused singles and 6 used singles, for a total of 72 unused and 6 used. Many of the unused singles are off center to top or top left.
With 1991 P.F. certificate. Scott footnote states "Almost all unused copies of No. 295a have partial or disturbed gum. Values are for examples with full original gum that is slightly disturbed."
4c Pan-American, Center Inverted (296a). Part redistributed original gum, balanced margins three sides to just into frameline at bottom, thin spotsFINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE 4-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT.
The 4c stamp portrays an electric automobile, known at the time as the "Electric Vehicle Service," as depicted on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad brochure from which the engraving was made. In the background one can see the dome of the Capitol. One of the two men seated at the front was Samuel P. Hege, B&O's passenger agent, so this stamp actually depicts a living person in violation of the law.
The 4c Pan-American Invert was a special printing and not regularly issued. Examples were distributed through two official channels, and the gum on the majority of stamps without "Specimen" overprint was disturbed. In fact, because the stamps were removed from mounting paper, they are generally thinned or have seriously disturbed gum. Scott Catalogue notes that "Values are for examples with full original gum that is slightly disturbed"
4c Pan-American, Center Inverted, Specimen Ovpt. (296a-S). Clear "Specimen" at left reading up, inverted diagonal orientation, slightly disturbed original gum, wide margins to touched at bottom, couple tiny corner creasesFINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE 4-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT WITH SPECIMEN OVERPRINT.
If the reported numbers are correct, a total of 203 4c Inverts were released, both with and without the overprint. An unknown quantity of the 4c Pan-American invert was overprinted with a small "Specimen" overprint. Some examples, both with and without the overprint, were given away by Third Asst. Postmaster General Edwin C. Madden. When postal authorities learned of the practice, they destroyed 194 copies and put one pane of 100 into the official archives. At a later date, 97 of these were traded for rarities missing from the archives.
With 1986 P.F. certificate