Sale 1116 — United States Stamps and Possessions
Sale Date — Wednesday-Thursday, 16-17 December, 2015
Category — 1861-68 Issues and 1875 Reprints (Scott 56-110)
3c Brown Rose, First Design (56). Mint N.H., well-balanced margins, rich color, Very Fine and choice, with 2014 P.F. certificate, Scott Retail as hinged
10c Dark Green, First Design (62B). Intense shade of the First Design, lightly cancelled, well-centered for this difficult stamp which is often encountered with perfs touching, fresh and Very Fine, with 2015 P.S.E. certificate
1c Blue (63). Mint N.H., bright color, exceedingly well-centered, strong impression, Extremely Fine, with 2006 A.P.S. and 2007 P.F. certificate (VF-XF 85), Scott Retail as hinged
1c Blue (63). Brilliant color, blue Wells, Fargo & Co. Express double-circle datestamp, Extremely Fine, scarce marking on the 1c 1861, ex Rose and Diamond, with 2015 P.F. certificate
1c Dark Blue, Laid Paper (63bc). Horizontal strip of three, deep shade, clear vertical laid lines, light strike of blue cancel and part of ms. from address, right stamp pulled perf at bottom center, center stamp small diagonal crease at top right, otherwise Fine and very rare, Don Evans notes in his 1c book (p. 37) that this is known to have been printed on both horizontally and vertically laid paper, multiples are extremely rare, with 2000 P.F. certificate, ex Bakwin, Scott Retail $13,500.00 as singles
3c Pink (64). Beautiful true Pink color, attractive centering, bold New York grid duplex cancel, Very Fine, with 2015 P.F. certificate (VF 80)
3c Rose (65). Mint N.H., brilliant color on bright paper, choice centering with wide margins, Extremely Fine, with 2001 P.F. (as a block of four), 2005 A.P.S. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates (XF 90 Jumbo; SMQ $1,150.00), Scott Retail as hinged
5c Buff (67). Warm shade, strong impression on fresh paper, well-centered, neat San Francisco double-circle datestamp, Very Fine
12c Black (69). Unused (regummed), essentially precise centering, intense color, Very Fine, 2007 P.S.E. certificate (VF 80; SMQ $725.00) no longer accompanies, this must have been downgraded this for the regumming as this is far superior to Very Fine centering
30c Orange (71). Original gum, essentially perfect centering, vivid color in the bright early shadeEXTREMELY FINE GEM. AMONG THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1861 ISSUE IN EXISTENCE. THE BRIGHT ORANGE SHADE IS EXTREMELY RARE IN ANY ORIGINAL-GUM CONDITION, AND THIS SUPERB EXAMPLE COULD WELL BE THE FINEST.
The narrowly-spaced 30c 1861 plate left very little room for the 12-gauge perforations between stamps. Consequently, examples with wide margins at sides are extremely rare -- this fact is acknowledged in the Scott Catalogue footnote to No. 71. The stamp offered is one of the few known original-gum examples in a higher grade. Furthermore, the shade is typical of the earliest 1861 printing, distinguished by its brightness and yellow glow. We have seen very few original-gum examples of the early shade, and this is without question one of the finest we have handled. As another indicator of how difficult this issue is to obtain in such choice condition, only three have graded higher than an 80 on the P.S.E.'s Population Report (at 85, 90 and 90J).
With 2004 P.F. certificate
30c Orange (71). Huge Jumbo margins, shows part of design of adjoining stamp at right and wide natural straddle-pane margin at left, uncommonly wide at top and bottom as well, bright color, small circle of wedges cancel, Extremely Fine, striking example, the tightly-spaced 30c 1861 Issue is rarely found with perfs clear of the design and choice centering (a fact specifically noted in the Scott Catalogue), with 2009 P.S.E. certificate (VF 80 Jumbo; SMQ $275.00) which has little reflection on the appearance of this stamp
90c Blue (72). Original gum, dark shade, reperfed at left and bottom, Very Fine appearance
3c Scarlet (74). Original gum, proof-like impression, brilliant color, three wide marginsFINE. A RARE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 3-CENT SCARLET TRIAL PRINTING.
With 1978 P.F. certificate
15c Black (77). Detailed impression on bright paper, choice centering with well-balanced margins, bold strike of small circle of wedges cork cancel, Extremely Fine, a beautiful stamp, with 1987 and 2015 P.F. certificates
3c Rose, C. Grill, Imperforate (83a). Horizontal pair, large margins including left sheet margin, original gum, lightly hinged, Extremely Fine, with 1983 P.F. certificate
2c Black, D. Grill (84). Better than usual centering with three wide margins to just clear at right, prominent grill, face-free cork cancelA FINE LIGHTLY-CANCELLED EXAMPLE OF THE 1868 2-CENT D GRILL.
The 2c D Grill is the rarest of the regular-production 1867-68 Grilled Issues (excluding the 1867 trials and rarest Z Grills), followed in order of scarcity by the 3c Z Grill, the 3c D Grill and the 12c Z Grill.
With 1994 P.F. certificate
3c Rose, D. Grill (85). Radiant color on bright paper, clear grill, neat strike of circle of V's cancel, Very Fine and choice, ex "Vineyard", with 1991 and 2004 P.F. certificates
15c Black, E. Grill (91). Choice centering, intense shade, segmented cork cancel, Very Fine, with 1983 and 1998 P.F. certificates
3c Red, F. Grill (94). Original gum, lightly hinged, clearly-defined grill, brilliant color on bright paper, balanced margins, Extremely Fine, a beautiful example of this issue, with 1988 and 1999 P.F. certificates
10c Yellow Green, F. Grill (96). Radiant color nicely complemented by red circle of wedges cancel, crisp paper, clearly-defined grill, choice centering with wide and balanced marginsEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A STUNNING USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1868 10-CENT F GRILL.
With 1996 and 2015 P.F. certificates
15c Black, F. Grill (98). Intense color and sharp impression, diamond in Circle cancel struck in a dark greenish-blue, Fine, fancy cancels are scarce on the 15c F Grill
24c Gray Lilac, F. Grill (99). Radiant color, clearly-defined grill, bold strike of quartered cork cancel, reperfed at left, Very Fine appearance, with 2001 P.F. certificate as sound
90c Blue, F. Grill (101). Unobtrusive cancel, fresh color, small corner crease, reperfed, Fine appearance
1c Blue, Re-Issue (102). Original gum, lightly hinged, deep rich color on bright paper, wide margins, Very Fine and choice, with 1988 P.F. and 2006 P.S.E. certificates (OGph, VF-XF 85; SMQ $1,200.00)
2c Black, Re-Issue (103). Part original gum, intense shade and sharp impression on bright paper, exceedingly well-centered with wide and balanced marginsEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB AND EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT BLACK JACK RE-ISSUE WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E.
With 2003 P.S.E. certificate (POG, XF-Superb 95; SMQ as NG $4,250.00, SMQ as OGph $13,000.00). Only 979 sold.
5c Brown, Re-Issue (105). Original gum, lightly hinged, rich color and proof-like impression, couple nibbed perfs at top, otherwise Very Fine, only 672 sold
12c Black, Re-Issue (107). Wide margins all around, choice centering, intense shade, duplex cancel, filled hinge thinEXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 12-CENT 1861 RE-ISSUE.
The 12c Re-Issue was printed from a new plate of 100 subjects, compared to the original plate of 200 in two panes. 10,000 stamps were printed (100 impressions). Only 389 of the 12c were sold; the remaining 9,611 were destroyed on July 16, 1884.
Our census of Scott 107 used, available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/107/107.pdf , records only 15 examples.
Census No. 107-CAN-15. With 2015 P.S.E. certificate
30c Brownish Orange, Re-Issue (110). Original gum, narrow h.r. at top, intense color on bright paper, perfectly centered with well-balanced marginsEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1861 RE-ISSUE, WHICH IS ARGUABLY THE MOST CHALLENGING OF THE 1861-66 RE-ISSUES TO OBTAIN IN THIS GRADE.
The 30c Re-Issue was printed from the original plate of 200 subjects. 10,000 stamps were printed (50 impressions). Only 346 of the 30c were sold; the remaining 9,654 were destroyed on July 16, 1884.
Little space was left on the 30c 1861 plate for vertical rows of perforations between stamps, and the same plate was used for the 1875 Re-Issue. Therefore, well-centered copies with perforations clear at the sides are rare. When one takes into consideration the limited number sold (346) and other condition factors, such as gum and freshness of paper, the rarity of the stamp offered here can be truly appreciated.
Ex Hall, who acquired this in the Stephen Brown sale held in 1939. With 2001 and 2015 P.F. certificates, both as "previously hinged"