Sale 958 — 2008 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Saturday, 7 June, 2008
Category — Washington-Franklin Issues (continued)
2c Deep Rose, Ty. Ia, Imperforate, Schermack Ty. III Private Perforation (482A). Deep rich color on bright white paper, Schermack perforations completely intact at left and with full Schermack perfs at right, neat machine cancel, completely sound except certificate mentions tiny break at bottom of upper left Schermack slot outside of the boundary of the stamp (which would be expected considering how these were applied)EXTREMELY FINE. EASILY ONE OF THE FINEST OF THE 40 RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THIS MAJOR 20TH CENTURY RARITY. FROM A NEW DISCOVERY AND OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Scott 482A, like its more famous predecessor, Scott 314A, was issued imperforate by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and sold to the Schermack Company for use in its patented stamp-affixing machines. The Schermack "Sealer and Stamper" machine typically applied stamps one at a time, and, in most cases, the hyphen-hole perfs on one side would be cut off. Unlike Scott 314A, the release of imperforate sheets printed from the experimental Type Ia plates escaped the notice of contemporary collectors, and, therefore, this stamp has a very small survival rate.
Our updated census of Scott 482A published in the Zoellner catalogue and available at our website at: http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/482a/482a.htm records three covers, one unused single, a used pair and 34 used singles for a total of 40 stamps. Most examples are either cut well into the design or have the Schermack perfs trimmed away on one side.
Schermack Type III stamps are often cut into the design by the oblong perforations or miscut with one side of the perforated margin missing. This problem for collectors, which meant very little to contemporary users of the stamps, resulted from two consecutive events. First, the sheets were perforated with the Schermack holes, creating an opportunity for misalignment between the stamps. Second, when the strip of stamps was fed through the Schermack affixing machine, the cutting blade did not always align with the space between stamps.
Census No. 482A-CAN-40. The consignor purchased a packet of various stamps over a decade ago. It sat in the back of a desk drawer until he recently went through it and found this remarkable stamp. With 2007 P.F. certificate
