Sale 1000 — Siegel Sale 1000
Sale Date — Wednesday, 8 December, 2010
Category — 1893 Columbian Issue (Dollar Values)
$4.00 Rose Carmine, Columbian (244a). Mint N.H., absolutely gorgeous color which is unmistakably in the aniline-ink Rose Carmine shade, magnificent centering with wide and balanced margins, long and full perforations all aroundEXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS MINT NEVER-HINGED $4.00 COLUMBIAN IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST IN EXISTENCE. A TRULY REMARKABLE STAMP IN EVERY RESPECT, THIS HAS BEEN AWARDED THE GRADE OF XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E. -- THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED TO DATE AND ONLY ONE OTHER SHARES THIS GRADE.
The $4.00 Columbian depicts the two central figures in the story of Columbus -- Queen Isabella and Columbus himself. The portrait of Isabella is said to be based on a painting in Madrid, but its origins have been lost to history. The portrait of Columbus is based on a painting by the artist Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480-1556). A student of the great painter Raphael, his realistic and empathetic works, filled with distinctive sharp lines and vivid colors, were in sharp contrast to his contemporaries in Venice such as Titian and Tintoretto. He died penniless after joining a religious order. His works were unappreciated until the late 19th and early 20th Century, when he was identified as a forerunner of the Surrealists due to his inclusion of unusual symbolic references in his works. This portrait of Columbus was painted in 1512 as a commission from Domenico Malpiero, a Venetian senator and historian, and was executed shortly after the death of Columbus in 1504. It is one of the earliest portraits of Columbus (none is known to have been painted in his lifetime). This image was also used for several stamps of Chile.
With 2010 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $65,000.00). This is the highest grade awarded to date and only one other shares this grade. The next-highest grade for this shade in Mint N.H. condition is an 80. For the normal shade, 95 is also the highest grade awarded to date (three in P.S.E. Population Report), followed by 90 (five in P.S.E. Population Report)
