Sale 1148 — The Barry K. Schwartz Collection of The U.S. 1909 Bluish Paper Issue
Sale Date — Tuesday, 28 February, 2017
Category — Three-Cent Deep Violet (Scott 359)
3c Deep Violet, Bluish (359). Top imprint and plate no. 4927 block of six with wide selvage, four stamps Mint N.H., positions 2-3 with small h.r. straddling the perfs, rich color on deeply blued paper, small natural inclusion in margin of position 2FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE WIDE TOP IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF SIX OF THE 3-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER WITH FOUR MINT NEVER-HINGED STAMPS. VERY FEW PLATE BLOCKS ARE KNOWN.
There are seven recorded 3c Bluish Paper plate blocks of six, including one in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (4918 Right). Of the six in private hands, five are top positions and one is a left position. In addition to the plate blocks, there is one pane in private hands (4925 UR) and one in the “Postmaster General’s Collection” at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (4927 UR). This wide top plate block was probably acquired by W. Parsons Todd from one of the earliest dispersals, circa 1910-14, and was owned by him for more than 60 years, thus explaining its extraordinary freshness.
Ex Todd. With 2017 P.F. certificate
