Sale 1028 — The Natalee Grace Collection of Used U.S. Stamps, Part Three: 1902 and Later Issues
Sale Date — Thursday, 20 September, 2012
Category — Later Issues (Scott 614-905b)
$5.00 Red Brown & Black (834a). Deep rich color which is significantly different from the normally issued colors, with vertical guideline at right, neat strike of mute oval cancelFINE. ONLY ONE USED SINGLE AND A USED BLOCK OF FOUR HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS GENUINE. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF THE ISSUE.
According to The Prexies by Roland E. Rustad, this error was discovered by George Sloane in 1947 and is thought to have occurred in the winter of 1938-39. A 1950 letter to Sloane from the director of the Bureau states "it is our opinion that the stamps...are the result of printing ink containing a trace of black rather than as a result of chemical action." A former employee is also known to have stated that the error panes were sold over the counter before they were reported to postal authorities and that "over a million dollars worth of stamps of the error of color were recalled and destroyed when they were discovered".
This used single and a used block of four with similar centering and cancel are recorded. It is also known unused. They are illustrated below and available at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/834a/834a.pdf .
Census No. 834a-CAN-01. Ex Rubin. With 1984 and 1999 P.F. certificates.
