Honour's City Post, Charleston S.C., 2c Black on Bluish (4LB8). Position 9 with missing pearl at right, also showing damaged pearl at lower left, bottom left corner sheet margins, other sides huge with parts of adjoining stamps, uncancelled, used on cover to local street address with original Valentine enclosure, one side flap missing

EXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE RARE MISSING PEARL VARIETY -- PROBABLY THE FINEST IN EXISTENCE.

Stamps printed from Position 9 on the Honour's 4LB8 setting usually show the complete pearl at upper right and normal pearl at lower left. Examples with the upper right pearl partly printed or completely missing are rare. However, all examples of the Kingman's four-line stamp (4LB15) from Position 9 are missing the upper right pearl and show the damaged pearl at lower left (see lot 19 for strip of three). Our theory is that the upper right pearl gradually disappeared from the Honour's setting prior to substitution of "Kingman's" for "Honour's". The pearl slug may have been damaged or fell beneath the other slugs and failed to print. Given the rarity of Honour's 4LB8 Missing Pearl stamps, it seems that very few were printed from the defective setting before conversion to the Kingman's name. It is also likely that the setting was changed back to "Honour's" for further printings, at which point Position 9 was fixed.

Ex Hall and D.K. Collection. With 2001 P.F. certificate.

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