Sale 929 — The Alan Geisler Collection of U.S. and Possessions Stamps
Sale Date — Monday, 26 February, 2007
Category — 1922-29 and Later Issues (Scott 551 to 832b)
-1/2c-$5.00 1922-25 Issue (551-573). Mint N.H., deep rich colors, choice centering, $1.00 light natural gum skips, $5.00 usual natural gum bends, Very Fine-Extremely Fine set
1c Green, Rotary (578). Mint N.H., rich color, well-balanced margins, Very Fine and choice
1c-10c 1923-26 Issue, Perf 10 (581-591). Mint N.H., bright colors, choice centering throughout, Very Fine-Extremely Fine set
1c Green, Rotary, Perf 11 (594). Bold strike of machine slogan cancel, choice centering, long full perfs all aroundVERY FINE AND CHOICE EXAMPLE OF SCOTT 594. ONE OF THE RAREST TWENTIETH CENTURY STAMPS IN SOUND AND CENTERED CONDITION.
The 1c Green, Scott 594, is waste from a horizontal rotary printing used to make coils. At the beginning or end of a coil-stamp print run from the 170-subject rotary plates, some leading or trailing paper was produced that was too short for rolling into 500-stamp rolls. In 1919 the Bureau devised a plan to salvage this waste by perforating and cutting the sheets into panes. They were put through the 11-gauge flat-plate perforator in use at the time, giving the sheets full perforations on all sides. The existence of Scott 594 was not reported until four months after the final sheets were delivered, and the 1c Rotary Perf 11 was soon recognized as one of the rarest United States stamps.
Our recently completed exhaustive census of Scott 594, available at our website at: http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/594/594.htm, contains 89 used singles, four used pairs and five covers (including one with a pair) for a total of 103 used stamps. Many have perforations either in on one or more side, or have faults.
Census No. 594-CAN-19. With 1973 and 1999 P.F. certificates as pair on piece. With 1999 P.F. certificate as single off piece (piece accompanies).
2c Carmine, Rotary, Perf 11 (595). Mint N.H., brilliant color, wide and balanced marginsEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT ROTARY, SCOTT 595. SCARCE IN SUCH SUPERB CONDITION.
With 1988 and 2006 P.F. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $2,600.00)
2c Carmine, Ty. II, Coil (599A). Mint N.H. pair, radiant color, fresh and Very Fine, with 1982 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Joint Line Pair, Ty. I, II (599-599A). Joint line pair, left stamp Ty. II, radiant color, neat Camden N.J. oval cancels, right stamp defective, otherwise Very Fine, scarce used combination joint line pair
2c Harding, Rotary, Perf 11 (613). Well-centered with unusually wide margins for this rotary waste issue, sharp impression, bold machine cancelFRESH AND VERY FINE. A RARE SOUND EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11. ONE OF ONLY A FEW SOUND EXAMPLES WHERE THE PERFORATIONS DO NOT TOUCH THE DESIGN.
Our updated census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 as (published in our Zoellner sale catalogue and updated at our website at www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/613/613.htm) records 42 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all) and two used pairs. Of the singles, 25 are sound, but of these only six rate a grade of Very Fine or Extremely Fine. The stamp offered here is one of the few choice sound examples.
The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc. Gary Griffith presents his hypothesis in United States Stamps 1922-26 that rotary-printed sheets of 400 were first reduced to panes of 100 and then fed through the 11-gauge perforating machine normally used for flat plate sheets. This method distinguishes sheet-waste stamps -- Scott 544, 596 and 613 -- from the coil-waste stamps and explains the existence of a straight-edge on Scott 613.
Census No. 613-CAN-35. Ex Floyd. With 1982 and 1990 P.F. certificates
5c Norse-American (621). Mint N.H., deep rich colors, perfectly centered, Extremely Fine Gem, a superb stamp, with 2006 P.F. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $215.00)
2c White Plains Souvenir Sheet (630). Mint N.H., brilliant color, choice centering, fresh and Very Fine-Extremely Fine
-1/2c-50c 1926-34 Issues (632-634, 635-642, 692-701). Mint N.H., brilliant colors, fresh and Very Fine
2c Carmine, Ty. I, "Long Ear" Recut (634 var). Mint N.H., center stamp in block of nine, the recut position 34 from upper right pane of plate 20342, rich color, Very Fine
2c Carmine, Ty. II (634A). Mint N.H. with plate no. 19745 at bottom left, brilliant color, well-balanced margins for this difficult issue, fresh and Extremely Fine, with 1983 P.F. certificate
1c-10c Kans. Overprints (658-668). Mint N.H., bright colors, choice centering throughout, fresh and Very Fine-Extremely Fine, a scarce set to obtain in such choice condition
1c-10c Nebr. Overprints (669-679). Mint N.H., bright colors, generally choice centering, fresh and Very Fine-Extremely Fine, a pretty set
1c-10c Kans., Nebr. Overprints (658-679). Complete set of used blocks of four, range of cancels incl. blind ovals, grids, duplexes, few small faults incl. 8c Kans. with small corner crease at top left, Fine-Very Fine
$1.00 Presidential, USIR Wmk. (832b). Mint N.H., rich color, Very Fine and choice, with 1982 P.F. certificate
$1.00 Presidential, USIR Wmk. (832b). Block of six, rich colors, blind oval cancels, Very Fine and choice, with 1983 P.F. certificate