Sale 1351 — The Vaquero Collection of Gem-Quality 19th and 20th Century United States Stamps
Sale Date — Thursday, 15 May, 2025
Category — Special Delivery, Registration
10c Ultramarine, Special Delivery (E6). Mint N.H. with plate no. 1776 and wide selvage at top, brilliant color and proof-like impression on bright paper, mathematically perfect centering with unusually wide margins on all sides
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS MAGNIFICENT MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 1902 SERIES SPECIAL DELIVERY STAMP, SCOTT E6, HAS BEEN AWARDED THE PERFECT GRADE OF GEM 100 JUMBO BY P.S.E. — THIS STANDS ALONE AS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED.
Scott E6 is the first of the "Messenger on Bicycle" Special Delivery designs. It was released as part of the Bureau of Engraving & Printing's "Series of 1902" regular postage issues (Scott 300-313). Scott E6 is printed on double-line "USPS" watermarked paper with 12-gauge perforations. In 1908 the "Helmut of Mercury" Special Delivery stamp was issued. However, the Messenger on Bicycle design was re-issued in 1909 from new plates, and the same basic design was issued continuously until the Motorcycle Delivery design replaced it in 1922. Changes in the paper and perforation gauge for the issues from 1909 until 1922 mirror the changes in the Washington-Franklin series of the same period.
Scott E6 is not particularly scarce (it has a Scott value of $500 as Mint N.H.), but experienced collectors and professionals know that very few examples of the 1902 Issue exist with wide and balanced margins. The P.S.E. Population Report statistics support this statement, and a review of our auction records with Power Search provides visual confirmation. None of the stamps (singles or in blocks) in our database compare to this Mint N.H. Gem 100 Jumbo example.
Ex "Hanover". With 2009 P.S.E. certificate (Gem 100). With 2025 P.S.E. certificate (Gem 100 Jumbo). After an additional 16 years P.S.E. has more data points for measurements on borderless Special Delivery stamps and so the grade on this was raised to 100 Jumbo. This is the highest grade possible and the only example to achieve this desirable grade. Further down the scale, one has graded Superb 98 and one 98J, and four have graded 95, low population numbers at the high end of the grading scale. Unpriced in this grade in SMQ. SMQ $16,000 as 100.
