90c Carmine & Black (122). Original gum, lightly hinged, clear grill, rich colors and detailed impressions, unusually choice centering with wide and balanced margins

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE, GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY THE P.F. AND XF 90 JUMBO BY P.S.E. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES IN EXISTENCE.

The 90c 1869 Pictorial is widely admired for its beautiful engraving and dignified portrait of Abraham Lincoln. However, collectors have been frustrated in their efforts to acquire choice examples of this issue. Used 90c stamps are typically heavily cancelled, because the high denomination was cause for postal clerks to thoroughly obliterate any chance for re-use. Naturally, the significant monetary value of 90c in 1869 limited the number of unused stamps that would be saved for future collectors. Therefore, the collector ideals of "well-centered with original gum" and "lightly cancelled" are seldom obtainable in the available supply of 90c 1869s.

With 2006 P.F. certificate (XF-Superb 95). With 2024 P.S.E. certificate (OGph, XF 90 Jumbo; unpriced in this grade in SMQ, SMQ $30,000 as 90 and $75,000 as 95). This stamp compares very favorably to the examples graded by P.S.E. at XF-Superb 95 (the margins are wider than some), but grading stamps with designs that are asymmetrical sometimes results in measurements off by a fraction of a millimeter, regardless of appearance.

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