Sale 1040 — Outstanding United States Stamps
Sale Date — Tuesday-Thursday, 26-28 March, 2013
Category — 1894-95 Bureau Issues (Scott 246-278)
1c-5c 1894-95 Bureau Issues (246-247, 253, 255-256, 268-270). Imprint and plate no. blocks of six, all but two are tops (Nos. 256 and 268 bottoms), original gum, No. 247 disturbed gum bottom pair, Nos. 253 and 255 tropicalized gum, No. 256 multiple h.r., nice margins and centering nearly throughout, few small flaws including small thins on Nos. 247 and 269, few perf separations, Very Fine or appear so, these are much better centered than normally encountered in such a group
1c-10c 1894-98 Issues (252-253, 255, 258, 264, 267-269, 271, 279). Blocks of four or imprint and plate no. strips of three, original gum, mostly h.r., few small flaws, overall fresh and Fine-Very Fine
2c Carmine Lake, Ty. I (249). Mint N.H. left imprint and plate no. 3 block of six, brilliant color, fresh and Fine, a rare Mint N.H. plate block of this issue
2c Carmine, Ty. II (251). Mint N.H. top imprint and plate no. 133 strip of three with wide selvage, radiant color as fresh as the day it was printedVERY FINE AND CHOICE. A BEAUTIFUL MINT NEVER-HINGED IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER STRIP OF THREE OF THE 1894 2-CENT CARMINE TYPE II ON UNWATERMARKED PAPER.
With 2010 P.F. certificate for strip of eight.
3c Purple (253). Original gum, barely hinged, pretty shade, wide and balanced margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2000 P.F. certificate
4c Dark Brown (254). Mint N.H., crisp impression, wide margins, Extremely Fine, with 2000 and 2007 P.F. certificates (XF 90)
5c Chocolate (255). Mint N.H. with plate no. selvage at top, radiant color, beautiful centering, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2012 P.F. certificate (XF 90)
5c Chocolate (255). Mint N.H., wonderful warm shade, beautiful centering with wide and balanced margins, Extremely Fine, a stamp of great visual appeal, with 2003 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (XF 90; SMQ $820.00)
10c Dark Green (258). Original gum, single hinge mark, bright shade, crisp impression, fresh and Extremely Fine, with 2008 P.S.E. certificate (OGph, XF 90; SMQ $500.00)
15c Dark Blue (259). Original gum, barely hinged, deep rich color and proof-like impression, well-balanced margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2000 and 2008 P.F. and 2008 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $1,150.00)
50c Orange (260). Mint N.H., well-balanced margins, some slight oxidation not mentioned on accompanying certificate, otherwise Very Fine, with 2004 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85; SMQ $2,200.00)
50c Orange (260). Bottom imprint and plate no. 75 block of six, original gum, perf separations reinforced with small slivers of Scotch tape which has unfortunately bled thru to front, causing stains in four small areas, typical 1894 Bureau perforations, clear margins to touching right pairFINE CENTERING AND EXTREMELY RARE PLATE BLOCK OF THE 1894 30-CENT UNWATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE.
Lewis Kaufman records fewer than ten plate blocks of this issue. We have not offered another example since at least 1993. The tape stains on this plate block rarity are tragic and date back to the days when people were ignorant of the long-term effects of Scotch-brand tape adhesive.
$1.00 Black (261). Original gum, lightly hinged, intense shade and impression on bright paper, wide margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 1974 P.F. and 1998 P.S.E. certificates
$1.00 Black (261). Original gum, lightly hinged, deep shade on bright paper, Jumbo margins, Very Fine and choice, with 2001 P.F. and 2011 P.S.E. certificates (OGph, VF-XF 85 Jumbo; SMQ $350.00 as 95, $420.00 as 98)
$1.00 Black, Ty. II (261A). Original gum, bright shade, well-proportioned margins, Very Fine and choice, with 1986 and 2007 P.F. certificates (VF-XF 85)
$2.00 Bright Blue (262). Original gum, lightly hinged, rich color on bright paper, Very Fine and choice, a beautifully centered example of this challenging 1894 Unwatermarked Bureau dollar value, with 1991 and 2004 P.F. certificates
$2.00 Bright Blue (262). Original gum, barest trace of hinging, detailed impression, wide margins, Very Fine, ex Odeneal, with 1991 and 2013 P.F. certificates
$5.00 Dark Green (263). Original gum, brilliant color, crisp impressionVERY FINE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1894 UNWATERMARKED $5.00 BUREAU ISSUE.
With 2002 P.F. certificate.
2c Carmine, Ty. III (267). Mint N.H. top imprint and plate no. 170 block of six with wide selvage, radiant color, well-balanced margins, Very Fine and choice, with 2012 P.S.E. certificate
4c Dark Brown (269). Mint N.H. with part imprint selvage at bottom, bright color and crisp impression, Jumbo margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2012 P.S.A.G. certificate (XF-Superb 95 Jumbo)
5c Chocolate (270). Mint N.H. with wide plate no. 391 selvage at bottom, rich color, balanced margins, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2012 P.S.A.G. certificate (XF-Superb 95)
6c Dull Brown, USIR Watermark (271a). Clear "I" watermark, better centering than usually seen on this difficult issue, rich color, oval grid cancel, completely soundVERY FINE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 6-CENT 1895 "USIR" WATERMARK ERROR. ONLY 27 ARE KNOWN TO US.
The "USIR" (United States Internal Revenue) watermark error occurred when a supply of paper reserved for revenue stamp production was used for printing the 6c and 8c postage stamps. Our updated census of this issue, published at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/271a/271a.pdf , records only 24 used copies certified as genuine by the Philatelic Foundation, plus three uncertified copies. Fifteen of those certified do not specify which letter is present. The other twelve are split exactly equally between the "I" and "R" of the watermark. Many examples have perfs either close or touching the design.
Census No. 271a-CAN-05. With 1994 and 2010 P.F. certificates. With 2010 P.S.E. certificate (Fine 70; SMQ $6,750.00)
10c Dark Green (273). Mint N.H., intense shade and impression, well-proportioned margins, Extremely Fine, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90; SMQ $725.00)
50c Orange (275). Top imprint and plate no. 75 strip of three, original gum, slight gum creases, vivid color, choice centering, Extremely Fine
$1.00 Black, Ty. I (276). Original gum, lightly hinged, proof-like impression, reperfed at right and bottom, Very Fine appearance
$1.00 Black, Ty. I (276). Horizontal strip of four with bottom left corner sheet selvage, original gum, side stamps barely hinged, center stamps h.r., choice centering, intense shade and impression, thin spot in bottom left corner selvageEXTREMELY FINE. A SPECTACULAR CORNER-MARGIN ORIGINAL-GUM STRIP OF THREE OF THE 1895 $1.00 TYPE I WATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE.
Ex Hetherington. With 1970 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as singles
$1.00 Black, Ty. I (276). Bottom imprint and plate no. 76 strip of three from the right pane, original gum, deep shade on bright white paper, attractively centered with wide bottom selvage, few minor perf separations in selvageVERY FINE AND UNUSUALLY CHOICE IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER STRIP OF THE ONE-DOLLAR 1895 BUREAU ISSUE WITH EXCEPTIONALLY WIDE BOTTOM SHEET SELVAGE.
We have seen several top imprint strips of the $1.00 1894-95 Bureau Issue with wide selvage, but almost every bottom imprint strip has narrow selvage. A Power Search review confirmed this observation. The strip offered here has unusually wide bottom sheet selvage.
$1.00 Black, Ty. I (276). Intense shade and proof-like impression on bright paper, light strike of blue cancel at center, well-balanced margins, fresh and Extremely Fine, a beautiful stamp, with 2001 P.F. certificate
$2.00 Bright Blue (277). Original gum, brilliant color, well-balanced margins, reperfed at right, Extremely Fine appearance, with 1984 P.F. certificate
$2.00 Bright Blue (277). Block of four, original gum, h.r., small thin spots in top stamps, otherwise Very Good-Fine, scarce original gum block
$2.00 Bright Blue (277). Pretty shade, bold strike of duplex cancel, well-balanced margins, Very Fine and choice, with 2008 P.F. and 2008 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85; SMQ $600.00)
$5.00 Dark Green (278). Original gum, lightly hinged, rich color, detailed impression, fresh and Very Fine, with 2002 P.S.E. certificate
$5.00 Dark Green (278). Perfectly centered, deep rich color on bright paper, New York registry oval cancel, Extremely Fine
$5.00 Dark Green (278). Well centered, marvelous color, light registry oval cancel, Very Fine and choice