Sale 968 — The Alan B. Whitman Collection of Outstanding United States Stamps
Sale Date — Tuesday-Wednesday, 27-28 January, 2009
Category — 1861 First Designs and Colors (Scott 55-61)
30c Red Orange, First Color (61). Original gum, beautiful shade and impression, choice centering for this difficult issue, full perforations all aroundEXTREMELY FINE. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLES OF THE RARE 30-CENT 1861 FIRST COLOR. AN EXTREMELY RARE STAMP IN COMPLETELY SOUND CONDITION.
Our census of the 30c 1861 First Color (available at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/61.pdf ) contains a total of 30 examples, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. A characteristic common to most examples of the 30c 1861 First Color is faint creasing, which in some cases is very severe and in others barely visible. Six stamps with original gum are free of faults, although a few have a trivial nibbed perf or two. All of the sound stamps are centered to one side (as are most of the others). Our October 28, 2008 auction of the Perry Hansen Collection contained one of the others (Siegel Sale 963, lot 487), which realized $62,500 hammer.
Census No. 61-OG-02. Ex Lessmann, McNall and Weisman. With 1971 and 1992 P.F. and 1993 P.S.E. certificates.
