12c Intense Black, First Design (59). Original gum, intense shade and impression, extraordinarily precise centering with perfs clear of the distinctive scalloped frameline all around, faint diagonal crease visible only on the back of the stamp

EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM 12-CENT 1861 FIRST DESIGN STAMPS IN EXISTENCE, OF WHICH SIXTEEN ARE RECORDED, INCLUDING ONE THAT WILL NEVER BECOME AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS.

The 12c is the rarest of the 1861 First Designs and Colors, with a total of 16 examples recorded, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. Our census of the 12c 1861 First Design is available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/59.pdf . Of the 15 copies available to collectors, only eight have full original gum. Of these eight, two are sound, one has slightly disturbed gum, one has nibbed perfs, three have thin spots or tears, and this stamp has a faint crease that does not affect its appearance in any way. Only one of the no-gum stamps is sound. Ranked strictly by centering and margins, this stamp is among the top quarter of the population.

Census No. 59-OG-04. Ex Caspary, "Country Gentleman" (Siegel Sale 422), Cole and Ballman. With 1988 P.F. certificate

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