Sale 1188 — United States Stamp Treasures: The William H. Gross Collection
Sale Date — Wednesday, 3 October, 2018
Category — 10c 1855 Issue, including Unique Multiples and Covers
To pay the Prussian Closed Mail rate on this immaculate cover to Sweden, a Swedish immigrant in Illinois used Imperforate 1851-55 Issue stamps, including the rare 10¢ Type IV, Scott 16, in one of the finest extant multiplesDESCRIPTION
10¢ Green, Types III-III-IV (15-15-16), Positions 62-64L1, horizontal strip of three, two stamps at left Type III, stamp at right is Type IV with recut lines at top and bottom--64L is the only double-line recut of the eight recut positions on the plate--marvelous condition with huge even margins all around, bright shade, used with 12¢ Black (17), full to large margins, intense shade and impression, the strip and single tied by lightly struck ultramarine “Andover Ill. Feb. 25” (1856) circular datestamps on buff cover to Hudiksvall, Sweden, prepaid for 42¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate, red “New -York Br. Pkt. Mar. 5” transit datestamp on back and “19” credit handstamp on front--carried on the Cunarder Asia from New York on March 5, arriving in Liverpool on March 18--entered Prussian mail system at Aachen with red “AACHEN 19/3 FRANCO” (March 19) framed transit datestamp (also ties strip at left), blue manuscript “f5” indicating prepaid 5 silbergroschen Prussian transit fee to Sweden, the back has “St.P 20 Mar 56” Hamburg Stadpost oval transit datestamp and two double-circle datestamps also applied in Hamburg (one by the Royal Swedish Postal Agency), Helsingborg (March 23) datestamp
PROVENANCE
* Mortimer L. Neinken, Siegel Auction Galleries, 11/19-20/1970, Sale 384, lot 140, to Haas
* Marc Haas (collection sold privately to Stanley Gibbons International; the cover sold privately to Grunin, 1980)
* Louis Grunin, Christie’s Robson Lowe sale, Part One, 3/25/1987, lot 67, to Zoellner
* Robert Zoellner, Siegel Auction Galleries, 10/8-10/1998, Sale 804, lot 85, to William H. Gross
CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES
* Mortimer L. Neinken, The United States Ten Cent Stamps of 1855-1859, fig. L, pp. 167-168
* ANPHILEX 1996 Invited Exhibits (Zoellner)
CONDITION NOTES
* Extremely Fine stamps and cover
VIEW PDF OF HISTORY AND COMMENTARY at https://siegelauctions.com/2018/1188/40.pdf
