Sale 1239 — 2021 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Thursday, 24 June, 2021
Category — Carriers and Locals, Revenues, Confederate States, Hawaii
$1.00 Green & Black, Third Issue, Center Inverted (R144a). Block of five, used with $5.00 Vermilion & Black (R148), cancelled by "H B July 12, 1872" manuscript cancels and affixed to an 1872 Conveyance of Land document from Savannah, Georgia, middle stamp in left row with tiny surface scuff within vignetteVERY FINE. A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT BEARING THE CELEBRATED AND UNIQUE BLOCK OF FIVE OF THE $1.00 THIRD ISSUE REVENUE WITH INVERTED CENTER. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED MULTIPLE OF THIS INVERT. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REVENUE ISSUE ITEMS IN EXISTENCE.
This document, a Conveyance by Deed of Land with buildings in Savannah, Georgia, was executed on July 12, 1872. The consideration of $10,000.00 was taxed at $1.00 per $1,000.00 of value, which was paid with the $5.00 stamp plus the five $1.00 stamps with inverted centers.
In his privately published census, Larry Lyons records a total of 26 copies (five are known outside the census). Of these, five are on this document and one is on another document (ex Zoellner, Sale 1000, lot 1324). Less than ten off-document singles are sound, and several of these have perfs into the design.
The Third Issue Revenue inverts are rare in any form of multiple. The 2c is the most plentiful, with five blocks of four or larger. There is one 5c multiple, an L-shaped strip. There are two pairs of the 15c. No multiples of any size are known for the 30c and $2.50. This dollar-denomination Third Issue Invert multiple, on its original document, is truly a rarity of the highest order.
Our first recorded offering of this remarkable item was in Siegel Sale 413, held May 31, 1972, where it was offered on behalf of the U.S. Trust Company and sold to Dr. Leonard Kapiloff. Its next appearance at auction was in Siegel Sale 678, held April 9-10, 1987. It was sold privately to Robert Cunliffe for a high five-figure price. It remained off the market and part of Cunliffe’s magnificent collection for 22 years, until Shreves Philatelic Galleries sold the Cunliffe collection. It has been off the market for the past twelve years.
With 2009 P.F. certificate. Scott Catalogue lists this block (mistakenly calling it a block of four) with a value of $85,000.00
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