30c Ultramarine & Carmine (121). Original gum, rich colors on bright paper, perfect centering with wide and beautifully balanced margins

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS IS EASILY ONE OF THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE IN EXISTENCE. THIS EXCEPTIONAL STAMP IS GRADED SUPERB 98 BY THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION -- THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED.

The rarity of centered original-gum examples of the 30c 1869 with grill is somewhat obscured by the availability of off-center copies of the 30c with and without grill. If the scope were narrowed to Scott 121 only, and only grades of Very Fine or Extremely Fine were considered, we estimate that fewer than 15 examples would be counted. Among the qualifying stamps, this is without a doubt one of the finest.

Ex Arthur W. Bingham, Jr. (Sale 325, lot 830). With 1968 and 2021 P.F. certificates (Superb 98). No other examples share this lofty grade in the P.F. on-line records. By way of comparison, the P.S.E. Population Report lists none at the Superb 98 grade and only two at the XF-Superb 95 grade. P.S.E. does not even price this issue above the grade of 95

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables