$2.00 Orange Brown, Trans-Mississippi (293). Original gum, barest trace of hinging, intense shade and proof-like impression on post-office fresh paper, perfectly centered with unusually wide margins for this difficult issue, long and full perforations all around

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. EASILY ONE OF THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLES OF THE $2.00 TRANS-MISSISSIPPI ISSUE IN EXISTENCE. THIS STUNNING STAMP HAS BEEN AWARDED THE GRADE OF SUPERB 98 BY P.S.E. — THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED.

The design of the $2.00 Trans-Mississippi depicts the Eads bridge, which spans the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The original engraving was used on the admission ticket to the Republican Convention of 1896, which nominated McKinley as candidate for president. The stamp, issued during the McKinley Administration, illustrates the natural boundary between East and West and so was appropriate for the Trans-Mississippi issue.

All of the $2.00 Trans-Mississippi stamps were printed in a single day's run on June 3, 1898. The $2.00 was printed in sheets that have narrower spacing between the horizontal rows than between the vertical columns. For this reason, it is extremely difficult to obtain stamps with top and bottom margins that equal the sides. This stamp essentially achieves that unnatural effect, which could only occur when the horizontal perforations were applied in such a way that the holes impinged on the space allocated to the rows above and below.

From the Nathanael Greene collection. Ex Merlin and Morton. With 2008 and 2021 P.S.E. certificates (both OGph, Superb 98). This is the highest grade awarded in any category and only two others share this rarefied grade. For Mint N.H. the highest grade awarded is a 95.

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