Sale 920 — United States Rarities
Sale Date — Tuesday, 17 October, 2006
Category — Washington-Franklin Issues (continued)
50c Violet (421). Left plate no. 7040 block of six, bright shade, left column well-centered, perfs at right a bit close but clearFINE-VERY FINE. THE 50-CENT PERF 12 WITH SINGLE-LINE WATERMARK IS EXCEEDINGLY RARE IN PLATE BLOCK FORM.
As a measure of rarity, the Wampler collection had a hinged top plate block, and the Fogelson collection did not have a Scott 421 plate block (both Shreves sales).
50c Violet (422). Bottom imprint, "A" and plate no. 5749 block of six with full selvage, well-centered, the bottom left and bottom right stamps Mint N.H., others lightly hinged, rich color on fresh paperEXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE 50-CENT PERF 12 DOUBLE-LINE WATERMARKED FRANKLIN PLATE BLOCK.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
1c Green, Perf 10 x 12 (423D; formerly 424b). Deep rich color on bright white paper, neat "Dayton Ohio" precancelVERY FINE. A CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 1914 ONE-CENT PERF 10 x 12 ISSUE.
Our census of Scott 424a contains 38 stamps. All genuine stamps are used, including 32 with the Dayton precancel.
Census No. 423D-CAN-18. With 1984 and 2004 P.F. certificates.
1c Green, Booklet Pane of Six, Imperforate (424d var). Unused (no gum) as are all of the 60 reported booklet panes, rich color, huge margins all aroundEXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE IMPERFORATE PANE. THIS IS THE ONLY IMPERFORATE BOOKLET PANE IN U.S. PHILATELY.
This unusual error was first discovered in 1968. With 1990 P.F. certificate
1c Green, Booklet Pane of Six, Imperforate (424d var). Unused (no gum) as are all of the 60 reported booklet panes, rich color, huge margins all aroundEXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE IMPERFORATE PANE. THIS IS THE ONLY IMPERFORATE BOOKLET PANE IN U.S. PHILATELY.
With 1981 P.F. certificate
50c Violet (440). Wide top margin plate no. 7040 block of six, very lightly hinged, beautiful color, remarkably fresh and intact, choice centeringVERY FINE AND EXTREMELY RARE PLATE BLOCK OF THE 50-CENT PERF 10 WITH SINGLE-LINE WATERMARK.
The Scott 440 plate block in Shreves Wampler sale was a top margin, lightly-hinged block, but it was not nearly as well-centered as the example offered here (it realized $15,000 hammer). The superb lightly-hinged top plate block in our 2000 Rarities sale realized $35,000 hammer. This plate block falls somewhere in between.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Violet Black (460). Full top imprint, "A" and plate no. 5782 block of six, Mint N.H., dark shade on bright fresh paper, beautifully centered and absolutely pristineVERY FINE AND CHOICE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP POSITION PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF THE 1915 $1.00 PERF 10 WITH DOUBLE-LINE WATERMARK.
The recent Shreve sale of the Fogelson collection of top position plate blocks described a superbly-centered Scott 460 plate block as the finest known. However, while the Fogelson block's centering is slightly superior to the plate block offered here, it had one hinged stamp (but still realized $42,500 hammer). The plate block offered here is entirely Mint N.H. and could possibly be the finest known in that state. The accompanying certificate was issued to the elusive but expert Albert F. Chang, who handled the private sale of several important collections of Mint N.H. plate blocks during the 1990's.
With 1994 P.F. certificate
2c Red, Ty. I, Coil (449). Mint N.H. joint line pair, brilliant color and detailed impressionA FINE AND RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED JOINT LINE PAIR OF THE 1915 2-CENT TYPE I VERTICAL COIL.
With 1994 P.F. certificate
4c Orange Brown (465). Mint N.H. wide top plate no. 7362 block of six, deep rich color, beautifully centeredEXTREMELY FINE. MINT NEVER-HINGED WIDE TOP PLATE BLOCKS OF THE 4-CENT PERF 10 UNWATERMARKED ISSUE ARE EXTREMELY RARE IN THIS QUALITY.
With 1986 P.F. certificate
$5.00 Light Green (480). Mint N.H. wide top plate no. 8016 block of six, superb centering throughout, fresh color on bright paperEXTREMELY FINE GEM. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE $5.00 MARSHALL 1917 PERF 10 ISSUE.
With 2006 P.S.E. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. II, Coil (491). Pair, lightly hinged, almost perfectly centered, intense colorEXTREMELY FINE. A REMARKABLY CHOICE PAIR OF THE RARE 2-CENT TYPE II HORIZONTAL COIL.
With 1967 and 2000 P.F. certificates
1c Green, Boy Scout Private Coil (481 var). Rich color, bold "New York N.Y." precancel, thinned at bottom, Fine appearing and very rare, these privately perforated coils were produced for use on mailings by the Boy Scouts of America and are only known with the New York precancel, unlisted in Scott
1c Green, Boy Scout Private Coil (481 var). Rich color, bold "New York N.Y." precancel, faint horizontal creases, Fine appearance, very rare, these privately perforated coils were produced for use on mailings by the Boy Scouts of America and are only known with the New York precancel, unlisted in Scott
1c Green, Perf 10 at Top or Bottom (498g). Mint N.H. block of 25 with plate no. 13366 at top right, four stamps in the block contain the error, Positions 9 and 10 in the block are Perf 10 at bottom, Positions 14 and 15 are Perf 10 at top, deep rich color, choice centeringEXTREMELY FINE. THIS NEW DISCOVERY IS THE LARGEST RECORDED MULTIPLE OF THE ONE-CENT 1917 ISSUE WITH PERF 10 ON ONE SIDE STAMPS. A MAGNIFICENT SHOWPIECE AND ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF THE WASHINGTON ISSUE.
Our records of Scott 498g contain four unused singles, two unused examples a block of four, and two unused examples in a plate block of six (one of which is transitional, offered in our Sale 878). The four Mint N.H. examples in the block offered here can now be added to our records. Of the other copies, only the transitional stamp in the block and one single (offered in our Sale 837) are in Mint N.H. condition. Only four are recorded in used condition.
Accompanied by an old dealer's envelope which does not mention the Perf 10 on one side stamps and offers the block for $2.48. It is believed that the block was purchased from the post office in Rochester N.Y. and sat in a dealer's stock until its recent discovery.
Scott Retail as four Mint N.H. singles is $30,000.00, which does not adequately reflect the uniqueness of this multiple, which contains one-third of the world's supply of this rarity and two-thirds of the Mint N.H. examples in the finest attainable condition.
2c Rose, Ty. I, A.E.F. Booklet Pane (499f). Complete pane of 30, six stamps small h.r., most are well-centered for this difficult issue, deep rich colorVERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE BOOKLET PANE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT NO MORE THAN TWENTY PANES EXIST, THE VAST MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE POORLY CENTERED. THIS WELL-CENTERED EXAMPLE RANKS AMONG THE FINEST EXTANT.
The A.E.F. booklet panes were issued in September 1917, primarily for use by the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I. Only 3,000 panes were prepared of both the 1c and 2c denominations. By October they were no longer needed for the post card rate, as Congress passed a vote allowing first-class mail to be sent free of charge by active members of the Armed Forces. Many of the panes were destroyed.
With 2001 P.F. certificate
2c Rose, Ty. I, A.E.F. Booklet Pane (499f). Complete pane of 30, lightly hinged, bright color, choice centering for this difficult issueVERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 2-CENT A.E.F. BOOKLET PANE. THIS WELL-CENTERED EXAMPLE RANKS AMONG THE FINEST OF THE ESTIMATED TWENTY PANES EXTANT.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
2c Deep Rose, Ty. Ia (500). Mint N.H., perfectly centered with uncharacteristically wide and even margins, brilliant color, post-office freshEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A WONDERFUL MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT DEEP ROSE. A TRUE CONDITION RARITY.
The Type Ia Scott 500 was created during an experiment of the Bureau in creating a new type of transfer roll. A die was made from the old Type I transfer roll, having ten impressions on it. A new transfer roll was then made, using the new ten-impression master die. This new transfer roll was then used to create two new plates. Since this is essentially a "lossy" process, there are some noticeable differences between the plates created using this method and the old method of using one die impression to create the transfer roll.
With copy of 2002 P.F. certificate for block of four, this being the top left stamp
6c Red Orange, Perf 10 at Bottom (506a). Radiant color, neat "Scranton PA" precancel, few creases, small tear at bottomFINE CENTERING. ONLY THIRTEEN USED COPIES ARE RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS. THIS IS A NEWLY-DISCOVERED COPY AND OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Our updated census of Scott 506a contains twelve used copies certified as genuine by the Philatelic Foundation, plus this new discovery. Of the certified copies, eight have faults ranging from pulled perfs to creases. One other is known with the Scranton Pa. precancel.
11c Light Green, Perf 10 at Top (511a). Brilliant color, neat "Fort Smith Ark." precancel, s.e. at leftVERY FINE AND CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THIS RARE PERFORATION VARIETY.
With 1974 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine (519). Bottom imprint and plate no. 4856 block of six, five stamps Mint N.H., top center stamp lightly hinged, brilliant color, almost perfectly centered throughoutEXTREMELY FINE. A SCARCE AND DESIRABLE WELL-CENTERED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 2-CENT WASHINGTON ISSUE, SCOTT 519.
With 1985 and 1995 P.F. certificates. Scott Retail as singles
$2.00 Orange Red & Black (523). Top arrow and double plate no. strip of four, barely hinged if at all, bright colorsFINE-VERY FINE. A SCARCE ARROW AND DOUBLE PLATE NO. STRIP OF FOUR OF THE $2.00 FRANKLIN, SCOTT 523.
Scott Retail as four hinged singles
$5.00 Deep Green & Black (524). Top arrow and double plate no. block of eight, top stamps lightly hinged, bottom stamps Mint N.H., rich colors, Fine, scarce plate block, with 1989 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. VII, Imperforate (534B). Large to huge margins, lightly hinged, bright color on fresh white paper, Extremely Fine, with 1985 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. VII, Imperforate (534B). Bottom plate no. 12305 block of six, lightly hinged, large margins all around, intense shade on bright fresh paperVERY FINE AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF THE 2-CENT TYPE VII IMPERFORATE OFFSET STAMP.
Most Type VII stamps were used by private vending and affixing machine companies. However, unlike Scott 314A and 482A, a small supply of the imperforate 2c Type VII stamps reached the public. Only a few plate blocks survive (Wampler had one, but Fogelson did not, referring to the Shreve sales).
With 2006 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Violet Brown (518). Mint N.H. top imprint, "A" and plate no. 5782 block of six, deep rich color, choice centeringVERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE $1.00 1917 ISSUE, SCOTT 518.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
1c Green, Rotary Perf 11 (544). Neat wavy-line machine cancel, wide margins, fresh and bright colorVERY FINE AND CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THIS MAJOR 20TH CENTURY RARITY.
A small quantity of 1c Rotary Press stamps was perforated 11 at the end of 1922, using remainder sheets from the earlier printings that were normally perforated in 10 gauge or 11/10 compound gauge. Most of the recorded copies of Scott 544 are off-center or have been damaged--the result of lower production standards and poor handling.
With 1993 and 2005 P.F. certificates
1c Green, Rotary (545). Well-centered for this Coil Waste issue, tied by Grand Central Sta. N.Y. 1923 wavy-line machine cancel on publisher's corner card cover to Minneapolis Minn., part of backflap removedVERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE CONTEMPORARY AND COMMERCIAL USAGE OF THE 1921 ONE-CENT ROTARY COIL WASTE ISSUE.
Scott Retail $1,800.00 based on 1996 auction realization for this cover -- as appreciation of 20th Century rarities increases, so shall the value of this truly rare Coil Waste usage.
Ex Martin (Siegel Sale 894) where it realized $1,900 hammer.
$2.00 Carmine & Black (547). Top arrow and double plate no. block of eight, Mint N.H. except for few slight mount disturbances, incredibly deep color and very well-centered, short gum at top, Extremely Fine, ex Zoellner