5c Dark Blue, Perf 10 at Bottom (557c). Deep rich color, attractive margins and centering, "South Bend Ind." precancel applied upside down

VERY FINE. A RARE SOUND EXAMPLE OF THE 1922 5-CENT ROOSEVELT PERFORATED 10 AT BOTTOM. ONLY 18 COPIES ARE RECORDED.

At a certain point during production one of the perforating wheels became defective. In the course of repairs part of one perforation wheel was inadvertently changed from Perf 11 to Perf 10. Based on the physical evidence of surviving copies, this was the nineteenth row of pins on the wheel. Many examples of the Perf 10 on One Side rarities show transitional perfs from 10 to 11 or from 11 to 10. This is because the out-of-gauge perforation pins would frequently cross the span of more than one stamp, depending on where the wheel contacted the sheet.

Our census of Scott 557c, available at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/557c , contains 13 used singles, four in a used block and one on cover, for a total of 18 copies. Nearly half have faults, leaving fewer than 10 sound examples. This sound example has not appeared on the market in more than 50 years.

Census No. 557c-CAN-03. With 1964 P.F. and 2019 P.S.E. certificates

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables