4c Columbian, Error of Color (233a). Mint N.H., deep rich color and proof-like impression on bright paper, the deeper of the two shades, wide margins for this difficult issue

VERY FINE. ONE OF THE FEW AVAILABLE MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLES OF THE RARE 4-CENT COLUMBIAN ERROR OF COLOR.

The 4c Columbian color error was caused by the use of a wrong batch of ink, and spectrographic analysis has shown that the blue inks of the 4c error and 1c Columbian have the same components.

Stamps from at least two panes reached collectors, and the few cancelled examples indicate that stamps used by the public came from additional panes. It is likely that a number of full sheets were printed using the wrong ink, and most of the stamps have simply been lost to philately.

With 1980 and 1994 P.F. certificates

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