4c Columbian, Error of Color (233a). Three wide to huge margins, intense color, neat machine cancel, small corner crease at bottom left and tiny margin thin at lower left

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONLY THIRTEEN USED EXAMPLES HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS GENUINE BY THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF USED UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND OF THE POPULAR COLUMBIAN ISSUE.

The 4c Columbian color error was caused by the use of a wrong batch of ink, and spectrographic analysis has shown that the blue inks of the 4c error and 1c Columbian have the same components. Stamps from at least three panes reached collectors, and the few cancelled examples indicate that stamps used by the public came from at least one additional pane. It is likely that a number of full sheets were printed using the wrong ink, and most of the stamps have simply been lost to philately.

Our census of used Scott 233a, available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/233a/233a.pdf , contains 13 stamps certified as No 233a, including this newest addition. One additional stamp was previously certified as the error, but received a recent certificate as the Dark Ultramarine sub-shade. The copy offered here is the only one in our census with a machine cancel.

Census No. 233a-CAN-13. With 2013 P.F. certificate. Scott Catalogue notes that "No. 233a used is valued with small faults, as almost all examples come thus."

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