12c Intense Black, First Design (59). Unused (no gum), intense shade and impression, light vertical crease, some short and pulled perfs, faint toning

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONLY SIXTEEN EXAMPLES OF THE 12-CENT 1861 ISSUE FIRST DESIGN ARE RECORDED. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF THE 1861 ISSUE -- THIS IS THE RAREST OF THE FIRST DESIGNS AND FIRST COLORS.

The 12c is the rarest of the 1861 First Designs and Colors, with a total of 16 examples recorded, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. Our census of the 12c 1861 First Design (http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/59.pdf ) contains only four sound copies (three have original gum).

Census No. 59-UNC-01. PFC 58413 no longer accompanies. Last offered to the market in our 1981 Rarities sale.

Image Magnifier / Download

Power Search for Comparables