United States Stamps continued...

EXTREMELY FINE AND CHOICE. THIS IS THE LATEST RECORDED USE OF THE TROY & NEW YORK STEAM BOAT MARKING WITH THE "2CTS" FEE RATE HANDSTAMP ON A COVER WITH STAMPS.

This cover is illustrated and described in detail on pp. 232-234 of Vol. II of Ashbrook's The United States One Cent Stamp of 1851-57. The "Troy & New York Steam Boat" marking was applied to covers carried outside of the mails by non-contract steamboats. The marking was applied at Troy, and a 2c fee was collected in addition to the normal rate of postage. This 2c fee was paid to the ship's captain, in this way, letters carried by non-contract steamboats did not affect the revenues of the Post Office.

In late 1851 or early 1852, the practice of collecting the additional 2c in postage was discontinued. Mail continued to be carried by non-contract steamboats with the fee of 2c going to the captain, but the Post Office absorbed the fee and the use of the "2cts" handstamp was discontinued.

Ex Richey and Malcolm. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS MAGNIFICENT USED BLOCK IS THE THIRD LARGEST 10-CENT 1855 MULTIPLE RECORDED.

There are fifteen recorded blocks of the 10c 1855 imperforate, of which twelve are used. Ex Caspary (where it realized $2,800 in 1956), Levi and Zoellner (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 10-CENT TYPE III 1851 ISSUE. A STUNNING STAMP IN THE FINEST ATTAINABLE CONDITION.

This stamp possesses unusually rich color and a very detailed impression, which indicates that it comes from an early printing. It is easily one of the finest 10c 1855 stamps we have ever encountered.

With 1994 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF THE IMPERFORATE TYPE IV 10-CENT 1855 ISSUE FROM THE MISPLACED RELIEF POSITION -- THE ONLY RECUT POSITION ON THE RIGHT PANE OF THE PLATE.

When the plate was being entered from the transfer roll (or rolls), three vertical rows were started with the B relief instead of the A relief. These were the first two rows of the left pane, and the third row of the right pane. Only the first position in each vertical row is misplaced -- the rest of the sheet was laid out with the A Relief used for the top two rows. Position 3R1, one of the three misplaced relief positions on the plate, also bears the distinction of being one of the eight recut positions, and the only position recut on the entire right pane of the plate.

With 2000 P.F. certificate. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL LIGHTLY-CANCELLED EXAMPLE OF THE IMPERFORATE TYPE IV 10-CENT ISSUE.

With 1999 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE COMBINATION STRIP CONTAINING THE RARE TYPE IV POSITION 3R -- THE ONLY RECUT POSITION WITH A SHEET MARGIN AND THE ONLY RECUT POSITION FROM THE RIGHT PANE -- USED ON AN ATTRACTIVE QUADRUPLE-RATE COVER TO MEXICO.

Of the eight positions recut on the 10c plate, seven come from interior positions in the left pane. Only Position 3 was recut in the right pane, and it is the only Type IV position possible with a sheet margin. Position 3R, as explained in lot 108, was entered from the B Relief on the transfer roll, instead of the A Relief used for the rest of the row.

Ex Grunin and Zoellner. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM PAIR. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM HORIZONTAL PAIR OF THE 12-CENT 1851 ISSUE WITH COLOSSAL MARGINS AND EXTRAORDINARY FRESHNESS.

As this pair amply demonstrates, the spacing between stamps on the plate is very narrow. Most examples (unused and used) have either narrow margins or are cutting into the framelines. This pair, with full original gum and with such large margins, is a remarkable rarity. In fact, we feel confident saying that is the finest original-gum pair of this stamp extant.

With 2000 P.F. certificate. (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A GORGEOUS USED EXAMPLE OF THE 12-CENT 1851 ISSUE. SUPERB IN EVERY RESPECT -- COLOR, IMPRESSION, CANCEL, MARGINS, AND FRESHNESS.

The 12c 1851 plate was laid down with very little room between stamps -- just barely one millimeter, to be exact. For this reason, collectors have a difficult time finding stamps with large margins all around. The 12c 1851 was also rarely cancelled exclusively by the red credit markings used by foreign-mail exchange offices, therefore, even when a red credit marking is present, it is usually struck in conjunction with another less attractive marking.

This stamp breaks both rules. The margins are enormous, and the sheet margin at right shows the guideline between the left and right panes (this stamp comes from the left). It was once part of a pair used to pay the 24c treaty rate to England -- we know this because of the "19" (cents) credit datestamp applied at the Philadelphia exchange office. In this instance, no other cancel was used, and we are left with a spectacular sheet-margin single cancelled in red.

None of the above will be lost on specialists in United States used classics, but for those less familiar with the nuances of the 1851-57 Issue, we should emphasize the truly extraordinary features of this stamp. It is the kind that causes a philatelist to stop and stare in awe.

With 1999 P.F. certificate for the original pair. (Image)