Sale 976 — United States Stamps
Sale Date — Tuesday-Friday, 29 September-2 October, 2009
Category — 1922-29 Issues (Scott 574-657a, including Scott 613)
2c Carmine, Rotary (579). Mint N.H. block of four, bright color, Very Fine, with 2005 P.S.E. certificate plus two duplicate certificates, Scott Retail as four Mint N.H. singles
4c Yellow Brown, Perf 10 (585). Mint N.H. with bottom right plate no. 17989 selvage, beautiful centering, fresh and crisp, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $360.00)
9c Rose, Perf 10 (590). Mint N.H. with bottom left plate no. 18193 selvage, extraordinarily wide margins and perfect centering, vivid color, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98; SMQ $570.00)
1c Green, Rotary, Perf 11 (594). Part original gum, s.e. at top, thinned and faint creaseFINE APPEARANCE. AN EXTREMELY RARE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT ROTARY PERF 11 ISSUE, SCOTT 594. THIS IS ONE OF THE RAREST 20TH CENTURY STAMPS IN UNUSED 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 census of unused examples of Scott 594, based on the Levi and P.F. records and available at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/594/594.pdf , contains only 18 stamps. Of these only 11 have any gum, and three of those have perforated initials of Crowell Publishing Co. of Springfield, Ohio, which some collectors regard as equivalent to a cancel.
Census No. 594-OG-11. With 1959 P.F. certificate. Acquired by the current owner in a 1976 Kelleher sale.
2c Carmine, Rotary, Perf 11 (595). Mint N.H., choice margins and almost perfectly centered, vivid color, Extremely Fine Gem, difficult stamp to find in this high grade, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $2,550.00), one of only five in this grade with only two higher
2c Carmine, Rotary, Perf 11 (595). Mint N.H., brilliant color, long and full perforations all around, Very Fine and choice, with 2004 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Rotary, Perf 11 (595). Mint N.H., brilliant color, well-balanced margins, Very Fine and choice, with 1999 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Rotary, Perf 11 (595). Top star and plate no. 14176 block of four, three stamps Mint N.H., natural s.e. at left as always, right perfs close to tiny bit in, about typical centering for this difficult Rotary Waste plate block
2c Carmine, Ty. II, Coil (599A). Mint N.H. pair, brilliant color and detailed impression, both stamps remarkably well-centeredEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB MINT NEVER-HINGED PAIR OF THE 2-CENT HORIZONTAL COIL COIL, SCOTT 599a, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED SUPERB 98 BY P.S.E. -- THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED TO DATE.
With 1981 and 2000 P.F. and 2007 P.S.E. certificates (Superb 98; SMQ $3,000.00). This is the highest grade awarded to date and only six other pairs have been awarded this grade.
2c Carmine, Ty. I, II (599-599A). Mint N.H. joint line strip of four, left stamps Ty. II, right stamps Ty. I, brilliant color, Very Fine and choice
2c Carmine, Ty. II, Coil (599A). Mint N.H. pair, incredibly well-centered for this surprisingly difficult coil pair, crisp color and sharp impression, Extremely Fine, with 2008 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90; SMQ $700.00)
2c Carmine, Ty. II, Coil (599A). Mint N.H. pair, attractively centered, fresh, bright color, Very Fine and choice, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (VF-XF 85; SMQ $480.00)
2c Harding, Rotary, Perf 11 (613). Well-centered with unusually wide margins for this Rotary Waste issue, with sheet selvage at top, sharp impression, bold wavy-line machine cancelFRESH AND VERY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST SINGLES OF THE 44 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11 STAMPS RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS.
Our census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11(www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/613/613.pdf ) records 43 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all), one used pair and a newly-discovered used strip of three. Of the singles, approximately 30 are sound, but of these only six rate a grade of Very Fine or Extremely Fine. The stamp offered here is especially desirable by virtue of the selvage and its unusually wide margins.
The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc., and the stamp offered here was part of that find. 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-11. Ex Grunin where acquired by the current owner in our 1971 sale. With 1966 P.F. certificate.
5c Lexington-Concord (619). Mint N.H., huge margins of near Jumbo proportions, exquisite centering, clear impression on bright paper, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98; SMQ $340.00)
17c Black (623). Mint N.H., wide margins and superb centering, wonderfully fresh, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2008 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98; SMQ $240.00)
2c Sesquicentennial (627). Mint N.H., deep rich color and proof-like impression on bright paper, perfectly centered, Extremely Fine Gem, a gorgeous stamp, with 2007 P.S.E. certificate (Gem 100; unpriced in SMQ above the grade of 98, SMQ $170.00 as 98), only five have achieved this exalted grade and only one has graded higher at 100 Jumbo
2c White Plains Souvenir Sheet (630). Mint N.H., bright color, choice centering throughout, interesting selvage corner misperf caused by fold-over, resulting light creases confined to selvage only, Very Fine
2c Carmine, Ty. II (634A). Mint N.H., wide margins, deep rich color, Very Fine and choice, with 2002 P.S.E. certificate for block of six
2c Carmine, Ty. II (634A). Mint N.H. with top selvage, rich color and attractive margins, Very Fine, with 2007 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. II (634A). Mint N.H. with bottom selvage, intense color, Fine, with 2009 P.F. certificate
2c Carmine, Ty. II (634A). Top right plate no. 19644, brilliant color, Very Fine and choice, a stamp with great visual appeal
4c Yellow Brown (636). Mint N.H., precisely centered, fresh and crisp, Extremely Fine Gem, with 2008 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98; SMQ $220.00)