Sale 946 — United States Stamps
Sale Date — Monday, 12 November, 2007
Category — 1851-56 Issue (Scott 5-17)
1c Blue, Ty. III, Position 99R2 (8). Horizontal strip of three, Positions 98-100R2, comprising Type II (98R), Type III (99R) and the transitional Type II/IIIA (100R) with minute break in the outer line at bottom, the center stamp -- Position 99R2 -- has full margins at top and bottom framing the key elements of the Type III design (the wide breaks in outer lines), left stamp has large margins to clear at top, right stamp has ample to large top and bottom margins and is slightly in at right, bright shade on crisp white paper, tied by light strikes of "Conyngham Pa." double-line circle (apparently without date) on top half of folded cover to Mr. N. G. Taylor, Nr. 3 & 5 Bransh Street" (Nathaniel G. Taylor, congressman from Tennessee and later Commissioner of Indian Affairs), ms. "Register" and Due 3" handstamp, registry fee paid in cash and charged 3c postage for weight, the strip has been removed from the piece and is completely soundEXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 1851 ONE-CENT IMPERFORATE TYPE III FROM POSITION 99R2 IN A STRIP OF THREE WITH FLANKING POSITIONS 98 AND 100R2. THE 99R2 IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF TYPE III, WITH THE WIDEST BREAKS AT TOP AND BOTTOM.
Type III is defined by breaks in the outer lines at both top and bottom. Many Type III stamps have breaks that were created or enlarged by plate wear. Since the wear occurred over a period of time, the majority of stamps of this type (both unused and used) has small breaks in at least one line. The most notable exception is Position 99R2. According to the Neinken book, "The 99R2 stamp is a fresh entry, that was short transferred both at top and bottom, over an original entry that had been erased... The reason that 99R2 is the finest example of Type III is because of its very short transfer at top and at bottom, giving us the wide breaks in these lines." (p. 184).
This piece is a new 99R2 discovery, buried among the hundreds of thousands of documents in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The odds of finding a 99R2 are incalculable, but we did.
