20c Light Ultramarine, Perf 10 at Top (515d). Rich color and detailed impression, bold strike of New York oval registry cancel, diagonal crease

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF ONLY THREE EXAMPLES OF THE 1917 20-CENT PERF 10 AT TOP OR BOTTOM VARIETY WITHOUT A PRECANCEL. NONE IS KNOWN UNUSED. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF THE ISSUE.

At a certain point during production one of the perforating wheels became defective. In the course of repairs part of one perforation wheel was inadvertently changed from Perf 11 to Perf 10. Based on the physical evidence of surviving copies, this was the nineteenth row of pins on the wheel.

Many examples of the Perf 10 on One Side rarities show transitional perfs from 10 to 11 or from 11 to 10. This is because the out-of-gauge perforation pins would frequently cross the span of more than one stamp, depending on where the wheel contacted the sheet.

The Perf 10 on One Side varieties span both the 1917 Washington-Franklin and 1922-23 Issues. It is interesting to note that, apart from the 2c, there is no duplication of denomination between the issues. This would seem to indicate that the improperly repaired wheel was in use for only a short period of time, as there was little overlap in production of the issues. Based on dates of issue of the basic stamps, this probably occurred early in 1923.

Our census of Scott 515d, available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/515d/515d.pdf , contains a total of ten used copies. None is known unused. Of the ten copies only three have regular cancels, including one with a bruststroke and one with a boxed cancel. This is the finest of the three. One of the three has a boxed cancel and the other has a heavy brush stroke cancel. We consider this example to be desirable both for the size of its margins and for the attractive handstamp cancel.

Census No. 515d-CAN-01. Ex Twigg-Smith. With 1992 and 2001 P.F. certificates.

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables