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EXTREMELY FINE. THIS UNIQUE PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF THE FAMOUS 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY" IS CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE THE MOST VALUABLE ITEM IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PHILATELIC ITEMS IN THE WORLD.

Discovered and acquired by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue post office in Washington D.C. on May 14, 1918. Ex Edward H. R. Green, Amos Eno, B. D. Phillips and the Weill Brothers of New Orleans. Featured in the "Aristocrats of Philately" exhibits at Anphilex 1971 (New York City) and Interphil 1976 (Philadelphia). With 1989 P.F. certificate.

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THE ONLY KNOWN COVER BEARING THE HAWAIIAN 2-CENT MISSIONARY AND THE ONLY INTACT COVER WITH TWO DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS OF HAWAIIAN MISSIONARY STAMPS. THE RAREST AND MOST FAMOUS OF ALL HAWAIIAN AND UNITED STATES COVERS, AND UNIVERSALLY RANKED AMONG THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT PHILATELIC ITEMS.

Exhibited among “The Aristocrats of Philately” at Anphilex 1971 (New York City), Interphil 1976 (Philadelphia) and Anphilex 1996 (New York City). Shown by invitation in the Courts of Honor of 15 international philatelic exhibitions (last displayed at Washington 2006) and illustrated in the exhibition catalogues for London 1980 and World Stamp Expo 1989. Displayed in the “Gems of Hawaii: The Persis Collection” exhibit at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in celebration of the museum’s first anniversary. Pictured on the United States Postal Service 2002 souvenir sheet designed by Richard Sheaff (Scott 3694).

Illustrated in Rare Stamps, L. N. and M. Williams; Encyclopedia of Rare and Famous Stamps, L. N. Williams; described and illustrated in Meyer-Harris Hawaii, Its Stamps and Postal History, and Gregory Hawaii Foreign Mails to 1870 (Figure 15-28 and pictured on the front cover of Volume I); featured in Life magazine’s “The World's Greatest Stamps” (May 3, 1954) and on the cover of Esquire magazine (October 1956).

Ex George H. Worthington (pencil “3/11/05 New Eng. S. Co. ISSS SS”), Alfred F. Lichtenstein, Alfred H. Caspary, Benjamin D. Phillips, Alfred J. Ostheimer III, Honolulu Advertiser (Thurston Twigg-Smith/Persis Corporation) and Guido Craveri/Tito Giamporcaro.

Siegel Census No. 1-II-COV-15. Gregory Census No. 2c-1 and 5c-2. With 1995 Philatelic Foundation certificate stating “it is genuine.”

For an introduction to the Hawaiian Missionaries: http://siegelauctions.com/2013/1045/Missionaries.pdf

For additional description and information about the correspondence and voyage: http://siegelauctions.com/2013/1045/Dawson.pdf

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THE ONLY KNOWN COVER BEARING THE HAWAIIAN 2-CENT MISSIONARY. THE RAREST AND MOST FAMOUS OF ALL HAWAIIAN AND UNITED STATES COVERS AND UNIVERSALLY RANKED AMONG THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT PHILATELIC ITEMS

On this cover the Missionary stamps prepay the 5c Hawaiian postage and 2c ship captain's fee, and the pair of United States 3c stamps prepays the 6c trans-continental rate in effect at this time.

The 2c Missionary cover does not bear a year-dated marking, but can be reliably dated to 1852. The sender, William Dawson, sailed from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands on the schooner Samuel Roberts, which departed on March 10, 1851. His first letter from Hawaii (see Part 2, lot 2073) was written from Lahaina on April 19, 1851, in which he remarks, "I have cast my anchor on this Island & settled down in peace after having been tossed on the timultuous Waves of Life for Thousands of Miles & have come to the end of my journey. Thus, his correspondence with family and friends back home begins in April 1851. Another Missionary cover from the Dawson find is dated February 20, 1852 (see lot 29).

Further evidence of 1852 usage is provided by the United States stamps and the San Francisco postmark. The 3c pair comes from Plate 2 Late, which is known used as early as January 1852, and the Brownish Carmine shade and impression are typical of the 1852 printings and in stark contrast to the Rose Red shades circulating in 1854. The San Francisco circular datestamp, having a wide font and the letters "Cal." in upper and lower case, came into use in 1849 and is found on covers through early 1853, but no later.

The final factor in determining the year-date is the sailing schedule. The Mary A. Jones sailed from Honolulu on October 5, 1852, the day after the postmark was applied, and arrived in San Francisco on October 26, a voyage of 21 days. An interesting comparison can be made between the 2c Missionary cover and two other Missionary covers carried on the same voyage (see lot 5 and Census No. 2-I-COV-70, Appendix I). In the case of the 2c mixed-franking cover - a very early use of U.S. stamps from Hawaii - the San Francisco post office felt compelled to cancel the United States stamps immediately after unpacking the mail, and they used the "Cal." device dated October 27. In the case of the other two covers, which had no U.S. stamps (one fully prepaid by a 13c Missionary, the other with U.S. postage due), there was no such compulsion. Those two letters were held for the regular processing of mail bound for the East Coast via Panama on November 1 and were postmarked with the "CAL" style of San Francisco datestamp.

This famous 2c cover, which has been included in every list of the world's most outstanding philatelic items, often as Number One in terms of rarity, quality and usage, has a fascinating provenance that is detailed in Alvin Good's The Life and Adventures of a Philatelist (pages 81-82). According to Good's account, during the summer of 1905 a defunct tannery in Bridgeport, Connecticut (reported in other accounts to have been Newark, New Jersey, or New Bedford, Massachusetts), was being cleaned for conversion to a Morocco factory. Some 35 years earlier the building had been abandoned, and, in feeding old papers and records into the furnace before leaving, the previous occupants had choked out the fire, leaving bundles of half-burned papers in the stove's belly. The workman now given the job of cleaning out the boiler and furnace knew something about stamps and became intrigued by the presence of old stamps on folded letters and envelopes scattered among the charred papers. When he noticed the partially burned envelope with a strip of three 13c Missionaries (see lot 29), he dug deeper and found the folded cover bearing the 2c Missionary. Fortunately for philately, this letter escaped an incendiary fate, showing nothing more than a faint spot at left where the lettersheet was licked by the flames.

The Dawson Missionary covers were sold soon after their discovery to or through New England Stamp Company. The firm featured the 2c cover on their season's greetings card of 1905-06 as "The Rarest Cover Known to Philately." It was acquired by George H. Worthington, the Cleveland chicle magnate and the leading American collector of the time, for a price reported to be $6,000. Alvin Good, the source of the 2c Missionary cover's provenance, was Worthington's philatelic secretary. A pencil note on the back indicates that the cover was purchased by Worthington in March 1905.

The entire Worthington collection was acquired privately in 1917 by Alfred F. Lichtenstein, who retained some portions of the collection and sold others through a series of auctions in 1917-18. Lichtenstein and another major collector of the time, Alfred H. Caspary, are said to have had an informal truce whereby they avoided concentrating on the same philatelic subjects. Therefore, while Lichtenstein formed his own fine, but relatively modest, collection of Hawaii, the 2c cover was released, giving Caspary the opportunity to acquire it for his formidable collection of Hawaiian classics.

When the Caspary collection was sold by H. R. Harmer in October 1957, the 2c Missionary cover was purchased by Raymond H. Weill Co. for $25,000 - a phenomenal price that was 2-1/2 times the realization for the Alexandria "Blue Boy" postmaster's provisional cover in an earlier Caspary sale. The Weills retained the cover in stock briefly, until a collector, Mr. P., acquired it for his stellar United States collection. In 1969 the Weills purchased the Dawson cover along with Mr. P.'s entire holdings for $4.07 million, but it was not long before Alfred J. Ostheimer III made the cover his most significant single acquisition and the cornerstone of his Hawaii collection.

After The Honolulu Advertiser purchased the Ostheimer collection in 1970, the 2c Missionary cover was absent from the market during the quarter-century when important covers climbed in value. Thus, what has been described as "the most valuable and interesting of any early nineteenth century cover" (Alvin Good) and "by far the most important item in Hawaiian philately [and] one of the greatest covers in the world" (Dr. Norman S. Hubbard, "Aristocrats of Philately", Interphil `76 Catalogue, p. 79), will be offered at auction for the first time in 38 years.

Exhibited among "The Aristocrats of Philately" at Anphilex 1971 (New York City) and Interphil 1976 (Philadelphia). Shown by invitation in the Courts of Honor of fourteen international philatelic exhibitions and illustrated in the exhibition catalogues for London 1980 and World Stamp Expo 1989. Displayed in the "Gems of Hawaii: The Persis Collection" exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in celebration of the museum's first anniversary.

Illustrated in Rare Stamps, L. N. and M. Williams (p. 27); Encyclopedia of Rare and Famous Stamps, L. N. Williams (p. 129); described and illustrated in Hawaii, Its Stamps and Postal History, Meyer-Harris (p. 30 and 113); featured in Life magazine's "The World's Greatest Stamps" (May 3, 1954) and on the cover of Esquire magazine (October 1956).

Ex George H. Worthington, Alfred F. Lichtenstein, Alfred H. Caspary, Mr. P. Collection, Alfred J. Ostheimer III.

Census No. 1-II-COV-15. Other census references: Meyer-Harris 9; Brewster 1-II-On Cover-1; Bash 1-1. With 1995 P.F. certificate

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VERY FINE. A STRIP OF SIX IS THE LARGEST MULTIPLE OF THE 10-CENT 1847 ISSUE KNOWN ON COVER. ONLY TWO COVERS ARE RECORDED, THIS BEING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE IMPORTANT AS AN 1848 RETALIATORY RATE USAGE. IN THE 1944 GIBSON SALE CATALOGUE, PHILIP H. WARD JR. DESCRIBED THIS REMARKABLE ARTIFACT OF POSTAL HISTORY AS "THE MOST IMPORTANT COVER KNOWN TO AMERICAN PHILATELY."

Ex Seybold, Gibson, Rust and Kapiloff.

With Philatelic Foundation certificate.

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THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR 3-CENT B GRILL STAMPS DISCOVERED TOGETHER ON COVER IN 1969, WHICH REMAIN THE ONLY EXAMPLES KNOWN TO PHILATELY. ONE OF THE RAREST STAMPS IN THE WORLD AND A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES POSTAGE STAMPS.

The distinguishing characteristics of the true B Grill are its size--22 points wide by 18 points high (18 x 15 mm)--and the points-up orientation of the grill, which shows as a pyramidal (male) grill impression on the back. The four recorded 3c B Grill stamps were discovered in 1969 on a cover mailed in February 1869 from Mason, Texas, to Germany. A photograph of the complete cover as discovered is shown here. Our census data can be found at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/82.pdf

The shade and thinner paper of the 3c B Grill stamps are more typical of the mid-1868 printings and quite different from the paler Rose shades and thick paper of the 1867 and early 1868 3c grilled issues (A, C, D, Z and some E production). The shade and paper indicate that the B Grill was implemented after the 1867 experimental period and after the first two months of regular 1868 grill production. Perhaps the B Grill was created during the process of making a replacement grilling device for one of the two machines. The grilling surface must have worn during production of many thousands of sheets, and it seems likely that replacement grills would become necessary in mid-1868. Through miscalculation or possibly deliberate experimentation, the grill size per stamp on this new B Grill device was twice the width of the F Grill. Based on the small number of surviving copies, this wider grill must have been quickly modified or discarded. Sheets with the B Grill made their way into the regular supply and, in the case of the discovery examples, were used in early 1869.

The Scott value for this stamp is roughly based on the realization in the 1998 Zoellner sale held by our firm, where another example brought $155,000 hammer. A decade later, the escalation in demand and prices for major philatelic rarities should make the Scott value irrelevant.

With photo of 1969 P.F. certificate for cover and 2008 P.F. certificate for this single.

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF THE BEST-CENTERED AND FRESHEST STAMPS FROM THE ORIGINAL SHEET OF 100. FOR THE COLLECTOR SEEKING THE FINEST QUALITY, THIS STAMP IS THE IDEAL INVERTED "JENNY".

The original sheet of 100 was discovered and acquired by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue post office in Washington D.C. on May 14, 1918.

This stamp, with Positions 47-48 and 58, at one time comprised a block of four owned by Eugene Klein. After Klein's death in 1944, his daughter, Dolores Klein Hertz, was instructed to claim a sealed container held by a Philadelphia bank in accordance with his Will. Resting on top of the various stamp collections in this container was the block of inverts.

The Klein-Hertz block was sold by Mrs. Hertz to Robert A. Siegel, who in turn placed it with Raymond H. Weill Co. The block was later sold by the Weills to a collector, Mr. Phillips, whose philatelic estate they acquired in 1968 for just over $4 million. The Weills received Philatelic Foundation certificate number 10,000 prior to splitting the block into singles at their client's request. This example comes from the position next to the Zoellner copy (Position 58), which realized $525,000 hammer in our 2005 Rarities sale, still a record price for the Inverted "Jenny".

Ex Colonel Edward H. R. Green, Eugene Klein, Dolores Klein Hertz, B. D. Phillips and William C. Mack. With 1988 P.F. certificate.

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EXTREMELY FINE. THE ONLY AVAILABLE EXAMPLE OF THE TWO RECORDED 1868 ONE-CENT Z GRILL STAMPS, ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST PHILATELIC RARITIES AND THE KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS.

The timeline on page 144 narrows production of the 1c, 10c and 15c Z Grill stamps to a period in 1868 between February 19, when the 10c and 12c E Grills went into production, and February 28, when the 1c and 2c E Grills were first produced. These dates are extrapolated from earliest known usages and official Stamp Agent records of grilled stamps delivered (see page 145).

The quantity of 1c grilled stamps issued during the first two quarters of 1868 (4.7 million, both E. and Z.) is much greater than the quantities of 10c (1.9 million) and 12c (1.4 million) grilled stamps issued during the same period (mostly E Grills). However, in used condition the 1c E (and Z) Grill is far scarcer than the 10c and 12c E Grills used. This relative scarcity is reflected in the Scott E Grill prices, which value the 10c and 12c unused higher than the 1c unused, but the 1c is valued higher used than either of the 10c and 12c used.

The conclusion we draw from the disparity between the relative quantities issued and relative values, used and unused, is that used 1c E (and Z) Grill stamps have a low survival rate. The reason for this low survival rate probably lies in the postal rates that could be paid by one or two 1c stamps. Looking at the rates then current, the largest demand would come from commercial firms mailing printed matter and tax assessors mailing income tax forms in March 1868. This class of mail has an extremely low survival rate for the obvious reason that printed circulars and wrappers are typically thrown out. Printed matter also placed an extra burden on the post office, and, from the covers that survive we have learned that old postmarking devices were sometimes retrieved and used to cancel circulars and wrappers. The Philadelphia 32-millimeter circular datestamp, which was used on first-class mail up through 1866, was evidently brought back into use in early 1868. Another example from the same time period--a genuine 1c E Grill--is recorded in the Philatelic Foundation records (PFC 133477 "Genuine").

The one other recorded example of the 1c Z Grill is photographed, front and back, in the Appendix on page 374. It is part of the New York Public Library collection, which was donated to the library by Benjamin K. Miller during the 1920's. The NYPL's 1c Z Grill and one of the six recorded 10c Z Grill stamps (Census No. 85D-CAN-6) were sold to Miller by Elliott Perry in 1919 from the collection of grilled issues formed by William L. Stevenson, who created the letter classification system used today to describe grills (A, B, C, etc.). In 1913 Stevenson published his observation that characteristics in several stamps did not fit with other grills (A through H), but at this time he had not created the Z Grill classification. A year later he added the Z Grill, giving it a letter designation to indicate he did not know exactly where this grill fit in the scheme of grill production. In the January 1915 Collectors' Journal, Stevenson describes the first 1c Z Grill seen, and, in May 1916 Mekeel's he lists two copies known of the 1c Z Grill--up to that time he had seen only one 10c Z Grill. It is likely that Stevenson's first discovery copy is the one sold to Benjamin K. Miller after Perry bought Stevenson's collection in 1918, and that the second recorded example--the stamp in the Zoellner collection--was discovered by Stevenson in 1915 or 1916 and remained with him until later in life or after he died. It surfaced in 1957 when Lester G. Brookman acquired the stamp from Henry Kuhlmann and Carl Subak, two Chicago stamp dealers who discovered it in a collection (possibly the balance of Stevenson's holding). Perry, the leading expert on grilled issues, authenticated the 1c Z grill, and Brookman, also a grill expert, sold the stamp with confidence to Wilbur Schilling. To ensure its authenticity, the stamp was submitted to the Philatelic Foundation and received certificate 8537.

When the Schilling collection was sold in 1975, the 1c Z Grill was offered in our firm's 1975 Rarities of the World sale and realized $42,500 (versus $25,000 current Scott value). In May 1975 it was again certified by the Philatelic Foundation as a genuine "double Z grill, cancelled Philadelphia". In 1977 the stamp was sold at Sotheby's for $90,000, doubling the current Scott value, to Superior Stamp & Coin Company, who in turn sold it to Dr. Jerry Buss of Beverly Hills. When the Buss collection was sold through Superior in 1986, the 1c Z Grill smashed all records, realizing $418,000 (with 10% commission premium) versus $110,000 Scott value. On January 22, 1987, the Philatelic Foundation issued its third "Genuine" certificate, signed by the preeminent philatelic expert, Herbert Bloch.

The 1c Z Grill is illustrated and described in Brookman book, Vol. II, p. 133. With accompanying 1975 and 1987 P.F. certificates. Last Scott value published in 1993

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VERY FINE. THIS THE ONLY INTACT BLOCK OF THE 2-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE ICONS OF 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN PHILATELY.

Ex Col. Edward H. R. Green, Philip H. Ward, Weill Stock and Connoisseur. Illustrated in Lidman's Treasury of Stamps (p. 81), Life magazine, "World's Rarest Stamps" (May 3, 1954). Exhibited in Aristocrats of Philately displays in the Anphilex 1971, Interphil 1976 and Ameripex 1986 exhibitions.

With 2001 P.F. certificate. The Scott Catalogue price for this block does not accurately reflect its true value relative to the value of four choice singles.

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VERY FINE. THE UNIQUE "SET" OF 1861-66 RE-ISSUE BLOCKS OF FOUR, WHICH IS COMPLETE FROM THE ONE-CENT THRU THE 30-CENT (THE 90-CENT DOES NOT EXIST IN BLOCK FORM). SIX OF THESE BLOCKS ARE UNIQUE. THEY WERE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CASPARY, LILLY AND HETHERINGTON COLLECTIONS, AND AS A GROUP FORM ONE OF THE GREATEST ASSEMBLAGES OF BLOCKS IN CLASSIC UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Stamps from previous issues were made for the 1875 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and were intended both for sale and also to showcase examples of every U.S. stamp printed to date. Stamps which were no longer valid for postage were called Reprints (those with original issue dates prior to demonetization -- Scott Nos. 3, 4 and 40-47). Those still valid for postage were called Re-Issues. Those printed concurrently with contemporary designs were called Special Printings. The Post Office Department tried to get the original printing company to make them where possible; the Continental Bank Note Company printed Scott Nos. 40-47 and also Scott Nos. 167-177 and 180 and 181, while National Bank Note Company printed Nos. 102-111 and Nos. 123-132.

The 1861 Re-Issue and 1869 Pictorial Re-Issue were the only set of Reprints, Re-issues or Special Printings to be issued with original gum (both were done by the same printing company). The quality of the printing is very high -- the colors are consistent, the impressions are uniformly superior, and the paper used is thicker and whiter than the original issued stamps. The design and perforations are exactly the same as the issued stamps. Perhaps the quality of the printing was an attempt to showcase their skills, to be considered for future stamp contracts. They were only available from the offices of the Third Assistant Postmaster General, who recorded the quantities purchased and the names of the purchasers. On July 23, 1884 the remaining stock was destroyed, by order of the Postmaster General.

Our records for the 1861 Re-Issues are very comprehensive, and encompass hundreds of auction catalogues, as well as the Levi Records. The 3c, 5c, 10c, 12c, 24c and 30c blocks are unique. There are two blocks recorded for the 2c and 15c (the second of the latter with repaired perfs).

Ex Caspary, Lilly and Hetherington. The 1c with 1982 P.F. certificate. Others with 1968 P.F. certificates.

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VERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED BLOCK OF THE 1857 5-CENT BRICK RED IN UNUSED CONDITION, WITH OR WITHOUT ORIGINAL GUM. AN IMPORTANT UNITED STATES CLASSIC BLOCK RARITY -- REGARDED TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERFORATED 5-CENT JEFFERSON ISSUE MULTIPLE -- AND EVEN MORE REMARKABLE CONSIDERING THE GREAT RARITY OF THE 5-CENT BRICK RED AS A SINGLE STAMP WITH ORIGINAL GUM.

This is the only intact block of the 5c Brick Red. The Caspary collection contained a block of three with a fourth stamp added to create a complete block. Neither Ryohei Ishikawa nor William H. Gross were able to secure the 5c Brick Red original-gum block for their fabulous Grand Prix award-winning collections.

Apart from the block offered here, there are perhaps twenty 5c Brick Red stamps with original gum to be found among major auction sales of the past fifty years. About half of the known examples are poorly centered. Almost two-thirds have stains or small faults. Judging from our survey, we estimate that perhaps six or seven sound original-gum Brick Red stamps exist with centering approaching any of the stamps in this block. The three sound stamps in this block would probably fetch $100,000 to $150,000 each if offered as singles. The Scott U.S. Specialized Catalogue values a single at $80,000.00, yet the unique block carries a mere $55,000.00 premium (17%).

Many collectors know this issue by type and shade, but fewer are aware of the order of production (or release). This state of confusion is partly due to the Scott Catalogue. The distinctive Brick Red shade of the 5c 1857 Issue comes first in the series of Scott-listed perforated 5c issues, but its true release date comes later in the sequence.

Based on dated covers, the 5c Type I shades were released in the following order: 1) Red Brown, Scott 28, EDU 8/23/1857; 2) Indian Red, Scott 28A, EDU 3/31/1858; 3) Brick Red, Scott 27, EDU 10/6/1858; 4) Brown, Scott 29, EDU 3/21/1859, almost certainly the last printing from the first 5c plate. The second 5c plate was made from a new six-relief transfer roll with the design projections cut away at top and bottom, to varying degrees. The Type II Brown was issued first (Scott 30A, EDU 5/4/1860), and the Orange Brown printing from the same plate followed about one year later (Scott 30, EDU 5/8/1861).

The first 5c sheets to be perforated in mid-1857 undoubtedly came from the unissued supply of 5c imperforate sheets in the "1856" Red Brown shade. These are akin to 1c perforated stamps from Plate 1 Late (Type IV, Scott 23) and Plate 2, and 3c perforated stamps from the Type I plate (Scott 25). Covers dated during the second half of 1857 and first quarter of 1858 have 5c stamps in the "1856" shade of Red Brown, which look like Scott 12 with perforations. By March 31, 1858, the EDU of the Indian Red shade, a second printing must have been made. We suspect that the entire family of Red Brown, Bright Red Brown and Indian Red shades -- all of which differ from the "1856" Red Brown -- were printed at the same time during the first quarter of 1858. No one has established a separate EDU for an "1858" Red Brown (Scott 28) -- separated from the earlier perforated "1856" Red Brown, which has the same Scott number -- thus our hypothesis cannot yet be supported by an EDU. If we are correct, the "1858" Red Brown and Indian Red should have similar EDU dates.

The Brick Red EDU of October 6, 1858, and its predominant use in early 1859 indicate either a separate printing (3rd Quarter 1858) or a later release date for stamps printed earlier. The Brick Red color is so far removed from any of the other 5c shades, we strongly suspect it was made inadvertently while the printers tried to match the earlier 1856 Red Brown. The Brick Red shade is actually closer to some of the 3c 1851 shades than it is to the 5c 1856. Sheets of the irregular 5c shades (Brick Red) would have been added to the stacks along with the subsequent Red Brown, Bright Red Brown and Indian Red sheets. However, when stamps were issued to post offices, the "color corrected" sheets would be released before the "irregular" Brick Red sheets were distributed.

Looking at the EDU's, there is a largely consistent pattern of new 5c printings at the beginning of each year in 1858 (Red Brown), 1859 (Brown), 1860 (Type II Brown) and 1861 (Type II Orange Brown). The only exceptions to this pattern are the "1856" Red Brown perforated sheets released in mid-1857, which make sense in the context of the first perforated issue, and the October 1858 Brick Red. The Brick Red stamps are much too scarce and limited in their distribution (New Orleans and a few other scattered post offices) to constitute a separate printing in 1858. In our opinion, it makes more sense if they were printed as part of the 1st Quarter 1858 printing, but released later in the year when needed.

Ex Worthington, Hind, Sinkler and Ward. Illustrated in Linn's Philatelic Gems II. With 1989 and 2000 P.F. certificates

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VERY FINE. A REMARKABLY FRESH AND CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THE FAMOUS 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY." THIS STAMP HAS BEEN IN THE POSSESSION OF THE FRELINGHUYSEN FAMILY FOR MOST OF ITS EXISTENCE.

According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 Inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased for $24 by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue Branch Post Office window in Washington D.C., on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was first placed on sale at the main post office. On May 20, Robey sold his sheet for $15,000 to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Klein had already arranged to sell the sheet to Col. Edward H. R. Green for $20,000. Colonel Green instructed Klein to divide the Inverted "Jenny" sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

This stamp, Position 74, was owned by former U.S. Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen (1869-1948), a second cousin of Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen Jr. Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen sold the stamp at auction through George B. Sloane on December 14, 1932, and the successful bid of $2,750 was made by a "Mrs. F" of Morristown N.J., the mother of Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen Jr. At the time of the Sloane sale the stamp was still Mint N.H., and the price paid was a record.

The Inverted "Jenny" was the centerpiece of 18-year old Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen Jr.'s exhibit of worldwide air post stamps at the February 1934 National Stamp Exhibition held at Rockefeller center in New York City. The teenage philatelist won a gold medal, and Stamps magazine remarked, "All the great rarities were included." This stamp has remained with the Frelinghuysen family until now, and it is offered to the market for the first time since 1932. Among the known Inverted "Jenny" examples, this stamp has the longest continuous ownership. It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of the Inverted "Jenny" come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This example is notable for its pristine state of preservation, fresh colors and barely-hinged gum.

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THE ONLY KNOWN UNUSED EXAMPLE OF HAWAII'S FIRST STAMP AND THE FINEST OF THE FIFTEEN RECORDED COPIES

This remarkable stamp appeared in the first sale of the Count Philippe de la Renotiere von Ferrary collection, held at the Hotel Drouot in Paris on June 23, 1921, under the supervision of M. G. Gilbert. In the sale this stamp was described "probablement le plus bel exemplaire qui existe de ce timbre" ("probably the most beautiful example of this stamp that exists"); the describer mistook the printer's ink on back for a light blue cancel, an error of judgment that was repeated in the Meyer-Harris book (p. 112). The 2c Missionary was purchased in the Ferrary sale by Maurice Burrus, an Alsatian tobacco magnate, for the U.S. dollar equivalent of $14,700 - the highest price ever paid for a single stamp at that time. By comparison, in subsequent Ferrary sales the Swedish 1857 3-skilling banco Yellow color error was sold for $3,095, the Baden 1851 9-kreuzer Blue-Green color error on cover sold for $8,087, and an unused Mauritius 1847 1-penny "Post Office" realized $9,733.

In the Ferrary sale, the reality about this 2c Missionary stamp - that it is an unused example - was apparently obvious to the bidders and to its buyer, Maurice Burrus. When the stamp was featured in Life magazine's "World's Rarest Stamps" (May 3, 1954), courtesy of Burrus, it was clearly identified as unused and valued at $20,000. The massive Burrus collection was dispersed after his death in numerous auctions in the 1960s, and the Hawaii was sold by H. R. Harmer of New York on May 27, 1963. At that sale the unused 2c Missionary - its unused condition confirmed by a 1963 Philatelic Foundation certificate - soared to the world-record price of $41,000. The successful bidders, Raymond and Roger Weill, wrote at the time of the acquisition, "[The stamp] was one of the two or three sound copies of an extremely rare stamp, unique in unused condition, intriguing through ancestry, issued by an American postmaster for what is now the 50th state in the union, and almost certain to realize a record price for single stamp."

The record sale was reported extensively in the news media, but nowhere so imaginatively as in Life magazine (November 29, 1963), which devoted a full page in color to proclaim, "This, pound for pound, is the most valuable substance on earth." Weighing in at a mere one two-thousandths of an ounce, troy, its value was calculated at $1,195,833,395.61 per pound.

The unused 2c Missionary was placed by the Weills in the collection of the anonymous Mr. P., where it joined the unique 2c Missionary cover. After acquiring Mr. P.'s collection in 1969, these two stellar rarities were acquired by Alfred J. Ostheimer III.

There is a story associated with the early history of this stamp that has been reported as fact by several philatelic authors, but disputed as fiction by others. Prior to Ferrary's ownership, the stamp is said to have been owned by a Parisian collector named Gaston Leroux. The story continues that Leroux was murdered by an envious philatelic colleague, who coveted the 2c Missionary and later confessed to killing Leroux to obtain it. The Missionary earned fame in another murder-mystery story when the motion picture Charade was released, casting the fabled Hawaiian stamp in a starring role with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (we will not tell the ending).

Described and illustrated in Stamps of Fame, L. N. and M. Williams (pages 96-97, plate 15).

Ex Leroux (?), Ferrary, Burrus, Mr. P. Collection, Ostheimer III. Census No. 1-II-UNC-1. Other census references: Meyer-Harris 8; Brewster 1-II-Unused-1. With 1963 and 1995 P.F. certificates. Scott value for the unique unused example is $500,000.00

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VERY FINE. THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR 3-CENT B GRILL STAMPS DISCOVERED TOGETHER ON COVER IN 1969, WHICH REMAIN THE ONLY EXAMPLES KNOWN TO PHILATELY. ONE OF THE RAREST STAMPS IN THE WORLD AND A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES POSTAGE STAMPS.

The distinguishing characteristics of the true B Grill are its size--22 points wide by 18 points high (18 x 15 mm)--and the points-up orientation of the grill, which shows as a pyramidal (male) grill impression on the back. The four recorded 3c B Grill stamps were discovered in 1969 on a cover mailed in February 1869 from Mason, Texas, to Germany. A photograph of the complete cover as discovered is shown here. Our census data can be found at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/82.pdf

The shade and thinner paper of the 3c B Grill stamps are more typical of the mid-1868 printings and quite different from the paler Rose shades and thick paper of the 1867 and early 1868 3c grilled issues (A, C, D, Z and some E production). The shade and paper indicate that the B Grill was implemented after the 1867 experimental period and after the first two months of regular 1868 grill production. Perhaps the B Grill was created during the process of making a replacement grilling device for one of the two machines. The grilling surface must have worn during production of many thousands of sheets, and it seems likely that replacement grills would become necessary in mid-1868. Through miscalculation or possibly deliberate experimentation, the grill size per stamp on this new B Grill device was twice the width of the F Grill. Based on the small number of surviving copies, this wider grill must have been quickly modified or discarded. Sheets with the B Grill made their way into the regular supply and, in the case of the discovery examples, were used in early 1869.

This stamp was the first example of the 3c B Grill (Scott 82) ever offered at auction when it appeared in our sale of the Dr. Drew B. Meilstrup collection on May 2, 1973 (lot 148). It was acquired by the current owner in that sale for $23,000 hammer. By comparison, just two years later the 1c Z Grill (Scott 85A) was offered in our 1975 Rarities sale and realized $42,500.

Census No. 82-CAN-02. Ex Drew B. Meilstrup (Siegel Sale 431, May 2, 1973, where acquired by the current owner). With photo of 1969 P.F. certificate for cover and 2015 P.F. certificate for this single.

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FINE AND SOUND. THE 1868 10-CENT Z GRILL IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS WITH JUST FIVE EXAMPLES AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION.

Our census of the 10c Z Grill is shown on the opposite page and is also available at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/85D.pdf

We record just six examples of Scott 85D, including one stamp contained in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library (85D-CAN-06) and another stamp (85D-CAN-01) which has not been seen since it last appeared in a Laurence & Stryker auction in November 1958. Until the status of 85D-CAN-01 can be verified, it is possible that only four examples of the 10c Z Grill remain available to collectors, three of which are sound.

For reasons explained in detail in our introductions to the 1867-68 Grilled Issue and Z Grill rarities (both available on our website), there were probably two grilling machines running concurrently when regular grill production started in January 1868, following the experimental grilling period from August to December 1867. In our hypothetical grilling operation at the National Bank Note Company in New York City, one machine (#1) was equipped with the Z Grill roller, and the other (#2) with the D Grill roller. After sheets of the 1c, 2c, 3c, 10c, 12c and 15c were embossed with the Z Grill on machine #1, it was eventually refitted with the F Grill roller and used to grill all values through the 90c. The #2 machine was used to grill a small quantity of 2c and 3c sheets only (the highest-volume values) before the D Grill roller was replaced with the E Grill, which was then used to grill large quantities of 1c, 2c, 3c, 10c, 12c and 15c values (there are no 24c, 30c or 90c values with the E Grill). When the 1869 Pictorial Issue went into production, the F and E Grill rollers were replaced with the smaller G Grill.

Exactly when was the 10c Z Grill produced and issued? The answer can only be deduced, because production records were not kept specifically for grill types, which are a philatelic classification and not something the stamp manufacturers identified at the time. By our estimate, it took approximately ten days from the time a sheet was printed and gummed for that sheet to be grilled, perforated and delivered to the post office. Therefore, the Earliest Documented Use (EDU) dates for stamps listed in the Scott Catalogue can be used to approximate the production date for each grill type and value. Using this dating methodology and working on the assumption that the 10c Z Grill and E Grill sheets were produced in close proximity to each other, the 10c Z Grill stamps would have been run through machine #1 on or about February 11, 1868, ten days prior to the 10c E Grill (Scott 89) EDU of February 21, 1868.

What do the EDU dates for the different 1868 grill types and values tell us? Let us first start with the grill types. The earliest date for any regular-production grill is January 17, 1868, evidenced by a piece with a 2c Z Grill (Scott 85B). This is followed by a 3c D Grill (Scott 85, EDU Feb. 2). Thus, we have evidence that the Z and D Grills were the earliest regular-production grills to be manufactured. The earliest date for any E Grill, which indicates the point of conversion for machine #2 from the D to E roller, is February 12, 1868 (3c Scott 88), which also happens to be the EDU for the 3c Z Grill (Scott 85C) and 12c Z Grill (Scott 85E). The earliest date for any F Grill, which indicates the point of conversion for machine #1 from the Z to F roller, is March 21, 1868 (3c Scott 94). The EDU for the F Grill, which is 37 days later than the E Grill EDU, suggests that machine #1 was still equipped with the Z Grill roller while machine #2 was producing sheets with the E Grill. However, that does not reconcile with the relative rarity of Z Grills. Another possibility is that machine #1 was taken out of use, but that does not reconcile with the quantities of grilled stamps produced (at the rate of 6,700 sheets per day). A third possibility is that machine #1 was refitted in February 1868 with a grill that matches the dimensions of the E Grill, but philatelists have not yet identified two different types of E Grills. In this scenario, machine #1 would have been refitted a second time with the smaller F Grill, sometime before the March 21, 1868 EDU. If philatelists were able to verify that there are indeed two types of E Grills, perhaps by studying the grills on multiples, then the "dual E Grill machine" theory could be proved. This theory also explains why the high-volume 3c is so rare with the Z Grill. Only a small quantity of 3c sheets were grilled on machine #1 before the Z Grill roller was removed. It also explains the coinciding EDU's for the 3c Z and E Grills. They were grilled concurrently on both machines.

The EDU data also tells us when different denominations were first grilled. The 2c and 3c high-production values were the first to be grilled (Jan. 17 and Feb. 2). The 12c value was next (Feb. 12). We do not have dated examples of the 1c, 10c and 15c Z Grills, but all three were almost certainly produced prior to the 10c E Grill EDU of February 21, 1868. The 5c was not grilled until August (F Grill, Scott 95, EDU Aug. 19), followed by the 24c, 30c and 90c values.

The F Grill first appears on a 3c value (Scott 94, EDU March 21, 1868), followed by the 2c (Scott 93, EDU March 27, 1868), which indicates that the newly-equipped machine #1 was used to grill high-volume 2c and 3c stamps after the F Grill was installed. 10c F Grill production, using new sheets printed on much thinner paper, occurred two months later, in May 1868 (EDU May 28, 1868). In the same month we have the first 12c F Grill (Scott 97, EDU May 27, 1868) and 15c F Grill (Scott 98, May 4, 1868).

The great Z Grill rarities are probably the products of a short-lived chance encounter between sheets of 1c, 10c and 15c stamps and the Z Grill roller on machine #1, just before the device was refitted with another grill type. The craftsmen at the National Bank Note Company could never have foreseen a future in which these embossed stamps would represent the keys to completing a United States stamp collection. If they had, perhaps they would have left records to tell us exactly what happened in those early months of 1868.

Ex Ishikawa. With 1975, 1992 and 2005 P.F. certificates

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EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCKS OF THE $4.00 COLUMBIAN ISSUE. ONE OF THE GREATEST COMMEMORATIVE RARITIES IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Our records contain three plate blocks of the $4.00: 1) bottom imprint and plate no. 107 block of ten with left selvage, plate no. at right, ex Crocker; 2) bottom plate no. 107 block of six, plate no. at left, ex Lilly, the block offered here; and 3) bottom plate no. 107 block of six, plate no. at right, ex Kobacker, currently in the William H. Gross Collection. None are known from the top positions.

Ex Lilly. Illustrated in Chronicle 150 (page 116). With 1992 P.F. certificate which states "Genuine, previously hinged in the top stamps only, top left with small surface scrape, bottom right with tiny thin." This is the first plate block we have offered in all of our Rarities sales and auctions since 1994.

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VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED $4.00 BLACK PONY EXPRESS COVERS, BOTH ORIGINATING IN HAWAII AND CARRIED ON THE SAME PONY TRIP. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COVERS IN UNITED STATES POSTAL HISTORY.

The first Pony Express stamps were issued in April 1861 after Wells Fargo & Co. became involved in operating the express. The Horse & Rider stamps bear the Wells Fargo & Co. name, and they were first issued in $2.00 Red and $4.00 Green denominations to pay the single and double rate per half-ounce. When the $1.00 per half-ounce contract rate took effect on July 1, 1861, a new set of stamps was needed. The July 1861 Horse & Rider issue comprises the $1.00 Red, $2.00 Green and $4.00 Black. The $4.00 stamp paid the quadruple rate for a letter weighing between 1-1/2 and 2 ounces.

This envelope was used in 1861 to send documents from the U.S. consul in Honolulu, Hawaii, to John C. Underwood, the fifth auditor of the United States Treasury in Washington D.C. It has a nearly-identical mate, with the same postal markings applied on the same days, and also bearing a $4.00 Black Pony stamp. The only differences between the two covers are the color of the consulate label--red on this cover and green on the other--and the notation “By Pony--Vouchers by regular mail” on the other cover.

Each of the $4.00 Black Pony covers has the McRuer & Merrill backstamp, which indicates that this private firm was responsible for transmission of both letters from Hawaii to San Francisco. McRuer & Merrill is listed in the 1861 Langley San Francisco city directory (Valentine & Co., publishers) as follows: “McRuer (D.) Co. & Merrill (John C.), auction, shipping, and commission merchants, agents Honolulu packets, 117 and 119 California, dwl 18 Laurel Place.” It is possible that McRuer & Merrill wrote “$4 Pony” in pencil on each cover and paid for the stamps. The presence of the large Wells Fargo & Co. double-circle datestamp on each cover is unusual, suggesting that McRuer & Merrill may have brought them to a Wells Fargo & Co. agent, who then turned them over to someone else responsible for preparing Pony Express mail for the trip.

The $4.00 Black Pony cover offered here reached the market through H. P. Atherton. In a 1932 advertisement, he stated “For Sale--A perfect $4.00 Black W-F Pony Stamp used on a large Envelope bearing a red seal of The U.S. Consulate at Hawaii, on the reverse. Price on application. H. P. Atherton, 1562 Main St., Springfield, Mass.” The “red seal” identifies this cover as the one sold by Atherton, and the Halls’ notation on back identifies him as the source in 1932. When the Hall collection was sold by the Siegel firm in 2000, this cover realized $325,000 hammer (Sale 830, lot 822).

The other cover--with the green seal--was in the Henry Needham collection, which Eugene Costales handled in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. John R. Boker Jr. reported that he acquired all of the Needham material with the exception of the $4.00 Black Pony cover that Costales promised to Alfred F. Lichtenstein. That cover was sold in the May 2004 H. R. Harmer sale of the Dale-Lichtenstein Pony Express collection, realizing $525,000 hammer.

With Philatelic Foundation certificate number 350,000, issued to the Estate of John H. Hall, Jr., on August 15, 2000, stating “it is a genuine usage.” FKW Census E141. Trip ET-125. Ex Atherton and Hall.

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VERY FINE. ONE OF SIX RECORDED PONY EXPRESS COVERS ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES--THIS IS THE ONLY ONE TO SWITZERLAND AND THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS COMBINATION OF STAMPS.

This cover was sent in the Pony Express mail departing San Francisco on September 7, 1861. It was carried by Wells Fargo & Co. outside the regular mails from St. Joseph (or Atchison) to New York City and placed in the post office there. The U.S. stamps were affixed when the cover left San Francisco, because the Running Pony oval ties two of them. The 36c total postage overpaid the 35c rate to Switzerland via Prussian Closed Mail. The New York foreign-mail office cancelled the stamps with red grids and applied the “New-York Br. Pkt. Sep. 25” backstamp to indicate British transatlantic packet service. The Cunarder Africa left New York on September 25, 1861, and off-loaded the mails at Queenston on October 5. From there the cover was carried to Aachen, where it entered the Prussian Closed Mail system on October 8. The “12” in magenta ink indicates a 12c U.S. credit to Prussia--7c normal credit to Prussia for transit anywhere in the German-Austrian Postal Union, plus 5c (2 silbergroschen, or 6 kreuzer) for transit beyond the GAPU. The cover was carried south from Basel to Locarno via Lucerne. It reached Maggia on or about October 10, 1861.

The FKW census lists only six Pony Express covers to foreign destinations, all originating in San Francisco. The authors remark, “...their rarity is matched by their visual appeal,” The six covers are listed at right.

Googling the addressee, Pietro Martinelli, brings up a website with some history of the Italian-Swiss migration to California during the Gold Rush ( http://pamle.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-wings-of-gold.html ):

“Between 1852 and 1856 alone, nearly 1,000 men, and two women, abandoned a single Swiss valley for California... One Italian Swiss could meet another and know instinctively from his last name what village in the old country he came from. They would speak, not in the standard Italian of Tuscany, but in a northern, Lombard-Italian mountain dialect that incorporated bits of German and French, as might be expected from the tri-lingual country they came from. For the Italian Swiss were neither ‘real’ Italians nor ‘real’ Swiss. They did not come from the kingdom that had united itself into Italy by the 1860s, although they ate the same food and went to the same church; the ‘o’ ‘i’ of their names sounded Italian, their accents were Italian. But they weren’t Swiss either, in the sense of alpenhorns, chocolate, or rich bankers. That was German and French Switzerland, separated from Italian Switzerland by a high mountain range, and by religion, language and culture. They were what they called each other, Ticinese, for the river Ticino that flows through the canton of that name, the only of Switzerland’s 20 cantons and six half-cantons where Italian is the first language, where the half-timbered houses of northern Switzerland give way to the red tiled roofs of the Mediterranean world.”

FKW Census E155. Trip ET-133. Illustrated in The Pony Express: A Postal History (p. 78). Ex Dale-Lichtenstein (who purchased the cover from Klemann in November 1924; sold in H. R. Harmer sale, May 13, 2004, lot 1517, for $425,000 hammer). With 2003 P.F. certificate stating “It is a genuine usage, the cover cleaned to remove staining.”

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL. ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES POSTAGE ISSUES AND OFFERED AT AUCTION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ITS DISCOVERY 117 YEARS AGO.

Census No. 2XU1-COV-01. Ex Burger, Castle, Earl of Crawford, Caspary and (possibly) Lapham. Small "W.H.C." handstamp at lower right (Warren H. Colson). With 2011 P.F. certificate. Scott value $300,000.00.

History of the Annapolis provisional and this cover: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/Annapolis.pdf

Census of Annapolis provisionals: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/2XU1/2XU1.pdf

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VERY FINE. ONE OF SIX RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE ALEXANDRIA POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL ON BUFF PAPER, OF WHICH THREE ARE TYPE I (SCOTT 1X1) AND THREE ARE TYPE II (SCOTT 1X1a). THIS UNCANCELLED STAMP IS THE BASIS OF THE SCOTT CATALOGUE LISTING FOR AN UNUSED ALEXANDRIA PROVISIONAL. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND OFFERED AT AUCTION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 1922 FERRARY SALE.

Census No. 1X1a-COV(UNC)-01. Ex Pickett, Durbin (signed on back "L.W. Durbin/ July 1879"), Ferrary and Lapham. Small "W.H.C." backstamp (Warren H. Colson). With 2011 P.F. certificate. Scott values are $100,000.00 for an unused Type II and $200,000.00 for Type I or II on cover.

History of the Alexandria provisional and this cover: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/Alexandria.pdf

Census of Alexandria provisionals: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/1X1-1X2/1X1-1X2.pdf

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE 1875 5-CENT CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE COMPANY SPECIAL PRINTING ON HARD PAPER. THIS IS THE RAREST OF ALL SPECIAL PRINTINGS AND ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS. ONLY TEN EXAMPLES ARE RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS, INCLUDING ONE IN THE MILLER COLLECTION AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Our census of the 5c Continental Special Printing (Scott 181), updated at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/181/181.pdf, contains only nine examples which are available to collectors.

Census No. 181-UNC-04. With 1983, 1990 and 2006 P.F. certificates (VF 80)

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VERY FINE AND REMARKABLY FRESH. ONE OF SIX RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE ALEXANDRIA POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL ON BUFF PAPER, OF WHICH ONLY THREE ARE ON COMPLETE COVERS -- THIS IS THE ONLY TYPE I KNOWN ON A COMPLETE COVER. AN OUTSTANDING AND WORLD-RECOGNIZED PHILATELIC RARITY.

Alexandria, a major port city, was ceded to the District of Columbia in 1791. On July 6, 1846, the United States Congress voted to cede Alexandria back to Virginia. In September 1846 the issue was put up for a vote by the white male citizens of Alexandria County (insane persons and paupers excluded), and they voted 763 to 222 in favor of recession. However, it was not until March 1847 that the Virginia General Assembly enacted the recession. A noteworthy aspect of this Alexandria cover is the letter, which refers to the September vote on the question of Alexandria's status. It reads (in part): "What do the folks in Frederick County say about retrocession? There is a good deal of talk about it here. The commissioners have appointed the first and second days of next month to take the vote ... a stranger to whom she had been introduced told her he hoped she would persuade the Alexandrians to go back to Virginia. I think the country people will mostly vote against it and the town people mostly for it." The Alexandria post office, with Daniel Bryan as postmaster, was most definitely part of the District of Columbia when the provisional stamps were used before March 1847. In the case of this August 1846 cover, we have used the proper designation, despite the Scott Catalogue listing.

The cover offered here was discovered in 1926 by Edward S. Leadbeater of Alexandria while he was visiting relatives in Parkins' Mills. The letters were addressed to his father of the same name. The cover was sold to Perry Fuller, a Baltimore dealer, for approximately $7,000. It was then sold to Henry G. Lapham and became part of the great Lapham collection of postmasters' provisionals. The cover was later acquired by Consul Klep Van Velthoven of Belgium and realized $5,250 when the Klep collection was sold at auction in 1956. The Leadbeater cover next appeared at auction when our firm sold the "Texas" collection of U.S. postmasters' provisionals in 1964, in which sale it realized $9,000. It was sold again through the Siegel firm in 1986 at the auction sale of the "Isleham" collection, where it realized $77,000, more than 2.5 times its then current catalogue value of $30,000.

Census No. 1X1-COV(UNC)-02. With 1954 and 1986 P.F. certificates..#

History of the Alexandria provisional: http://siegelauctions.com/2012/1037/Alexandria.pdf

Census of Alexandria provisionals: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/1X1-1X2/1X1-1X2.pdf

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VERY FINE AND REMARKABLY CHOICE ORIGINAL-GUM BLOCK OF THE FIRST UNITED STATES GENERAL ISSUE. ONLY TWO UNUSED BLOCKS OF THE 10-CENT 1847 ISSUE ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. ONE OF THE RAREST AND MOST IMPORTANT MULTIPLES IN CLASSIC PHILATELY.

The 1847 Issue is much scarcer in unused condition than other issues, because the stamps were demonetized in 1851. They could be exchanged for the new issue, but once the exchange period ended, the stamps would have no postage value. Considering the purchasing power of ten cents in 1851, it is not surprising that the stamps were either used or exchanged, rather than left for future generations of collectors.

Only three unused blocks of the 10c 1847 stamp are recorded:

1) Block of six (largest known), original gum, ex Gibson, Ward and Ishikawa, currently in the William H. Gross Collection

2) Block of four, original gum, ex Green, Klein, Kapiloff and Zoellner, the block offered here

3) Block of four, without gum, contained in the Hirzel Collection at the Swiss PTT Museum

The elusiveness of 10c 1847 unused blocks is shown in the fact that none was contained in the great classic collections formed by Slater, West, Caspary, Moody, Lilly or Grunin.

Ex Edward H. R. Green, Klein, Kapiloff and Zoellner. With 1970 and 1998 P.F. certificates

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE 1875 5-CENT CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE COMPANY SPECIAL PRINTING ON HARD PAPER. THIS IS THE RAREST OF ALL SPECIAL PRINTINGS AND ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS. ONLY TEN EXAMPLES ARE RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS, INCLUDING ONE IN THE MILLER COLLECTION AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Our census of the 5c Continental Special Printing (Scott 181), published in the Zoellner catalogue and updated at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/181/181.htm contains only nine examples which are available to collectors.

In our opinion, the Scott Catalogue value for No. 181 is not accurately correlated to its rarity or other stamps' values, probably because no examples have been offered since the U.S. stamp market started rising in recent years. For example, the values of Scott 181 and 204 are similar, despite the fact that there are twice as many recorded copies of Scott 204 (18 in our census).

Census No.181-UNC-04. With 1983, 1990 and 2006 P.F. certificates (VF 80)

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VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE $24.00 1875 NEWSPAPER SPECIAL PRINTING, OF WHICH ONLY TWO WERE SOLD. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL SPECIAL PRINTINGS, AND ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS ITEMS IN EXISTENCE. OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST FOUR DECADES.

The large-format Newspaper stamps issued in 1865 were unsatisfactory for collecting postage on the bulk mailing of newspapers and periodicals. Starting January 1, 1875, the rate was fixed at 2c per pound for weekly or more frequent publications, and 3c per pound for less frequent publications. A total of 24 denominations were created, ranging from 2c to $60, so that payment could be made on mailing weight from one pound to one ton without using more than five stamps in any transaction. They could not be used for any other purpose.

The $24.00 design depicts the mythological figure of the Goddess of Peace, shown half naked, leaning against a broken column, with an olive branch in her left hand and three arrows in her right. The regular-issue stamps were sent to postmasters on December 11, 1874, for use starting on the first day of the new year.

In a separate development, in 1875 stamps from previous issues to the current date were made for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and were intended both for sale and also to showcase examples of every U.S. stamp printed. Stamps which were no longer valid for postage were called Reprints (those which were demonetized -- Scott Nos. 3, 4, 40-47, PR5-PR7 and LO3-LO6). Those still valid for use were called Re-Issues. Those printed concurrently with contemporary designs were called Special Printings.

Special Printings were created for Bank Note Company regular postage issues (Scott 167-177 and 180-181), Officials and Newspapers and Periodicals. The Officials received "Specimen" (or "Sepcimen") overprints. Continental Bank Note Company produced the Special Printings, because they held the current contract.

The Reprints, Re-Issues and Special Printings were only available for purchase through the Third Assistant Postmaster General, who maintained a small office to fill requests from over the counter and mail order sales. This office remained open from 1875 to 1883, and all remaining stamps on hand were destroyed under close supervision on July 3, 1884. Invoices were prepared for all sales transactions, listing the denomination, quantity sold and name of purchaser.

For the $24.00 Newspaper stamp, the records show that two were sold, both to Paul Lietzow of Berlin, Germany, but on different dates. The first sale was entered on December 29, 1879. The second $24.00 sold was entered on July 26, 1880. There were no other purchasers -- apparently the number of people in the 1870's and early 1880's willing to pay $24 for a stamp that could never be used was limited to one person in Europe. Lietzow was also the purchaser of the only copies sold of the $36.00 (two), $48.00 (one) and $60.00 (one) denominations, as well as two each of the $9.00 and $12.00 values.

Paul Lietzow was a German collector/dealer who displayed his collection in one of the first philatelic exhibitions in Germany. The first was held in April 1870 and featured one person's collection. Lietzow exhibited his collection in July 1877 in Berlin for the benefit of wounded soldiers. His collection at the time comprised 6,200 stamps housed in six large volumes, quite an achievement for the time. In 1880 and 1882 he published handbooks on philately, one of which was a precursor to the Scott Catalogue. The idea of exhibitions and handbooks was to increase the appeal of stamp collecting, which was widely seen as suitable only for schoolboys and not worthy of serious pursuit.

In the November 1879 Philatelic Record, available at http://archive.org/stream/philatelicrecord11879lond/philatelicrecord11879lond_djvu.txt , Lietzow is quoted: "At the present time we may boldly assert that Philately has become a science. And should the scoffer sneeringly enquire, What sort of a science? I unhesitatingly reply, A sister science to Universal History. As such the learned do not hesitate to accept of Heraldry, or the science of blazon; of Numismatics, or the science of coins; of Epigraphy, or the science of ancient inscriptions; or even of Sphragistics, or the knowledge of seals. There is no reason why Philately should be excluded from the companionship of these sister sciences; for it is equal in every way to the study of Numismatics. And yet some wiseacres may be found who object to it on the score of its newness. Every science must have a beginning, and the modern character of Philately is a reproach, if it be a reproach at all, which every succeeding year will aid in obliterating. Had Chalcas, high priest in the temple of Jupiter, or even His Royal Highness Prince Orestes, busied themselves with the collection of postage stamps, the savants of today would readily have lifted their hats in recognition of Philately as a science."

Ex Lilly. Two backstamps (one applied by Thier, a European dealer) and signed in pencil by Souren Yohannessiantz. With 1960 and 2014 P.F. certificates. Listed but unpriced in Scott. Based on an auction realization the $36.00 is priced at $250,000.00 (two were sold and one has been discovered). Offered to the market for the first time since our 1976 Rarities sale.

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FRESH AND FINE-VERY FINE. A RARE SOUND EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY" ERROR. WITHOUT QUESTION THIS IS THE MOST FAMOUS STAMP IN AMERICAN PHILATELY.

According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 Inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased for $24 by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue Branch Post Office window in Washington D.C., on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was first placed on sale at the main post office. On May 20, Robey sold his sheet for $15,000 to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Klein had already arranged to sell the sheet to Col. Edward H. R. Green for $20,000. Colonel Green instructed Klein to divide the Inverted "Jenny" sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of the Inverted "Jenny" come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and a few have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner.

The stamp offered here, Position 21 with the left sheet selvage, is exceptionally fresh and very lightly hinged. The attached selvage immediately identifies it as a stamp from the far left vertical row.

Ex Lehman. With 1977 Robson Lowe certificate of opinion and 2008 P.F. certificate.

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EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF THE RARE 4-CENT 1908 IMPERFORATE. THIS PAIR CONTAINS ONE OF ONLY TWO KNOWN MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLES OF THIS GREAT RARITY -- ONLY FOUR PAIRS, TWO LINE PAIRS AND NINE SINGLES ARE KNOWN IN UNUSED CONDITION.

Our updated census of unused Scott 314A (available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/314A.pdf ) records four pairs, two guide line pairs and nine singles, for a total of 21 unused stamps. One of the singles is in the Miller Collection at The New York Public Library. Our unpublished census contains 44 used examples, including three strips of three (one on cover), three singles on separate covers, and 32 single used copies.

With the rising popularity of vending and affixing machines, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing received numerous requests from manufactures for supplies of imperforate stamps, which could then be privately perforated to conform to each firm's machine. In May 1908, a supply of 25 sheets (400 stamps per sheet) of the 4c 1902 Issue, without perforations, was delivered to the Schermack Mailing Machine Co. in Detroit. The entire supply was cut into coils with Schermack Type III perforations, designed for the firm's patented affixing machine and delivered to the Winfield Printing Co. for use on mass mailings of advertising material. Approximately 6,000 were used on a mailing for Hamilton Carhartt Manufacturer, and almost all of the 4,000 balance were used on a mailing for Burroughs Adding Machine Co.

All of the Scott 314A stamps that exist in unused condition originate from a local Detroit stamp collector, Karl Koslowski, who was the only one to purchase some of the 4c Imperforates--either from the Winfield Printing Company or from the Schermack firm. His earliest account of the event appeared two years later in the Philadelphia Stamp News, and is considered to be the most reliable of several conflicting stories told by Koslowski (and interpreted by others) at later dates. In the 1910 article, Koslowski explains that he purchased 50 stamps and expected to be able to buy more, but the supply was destroyed when he returned. We can account for 32 of the 50 stamps Koslowski claims he acquired. There are 21 unused stamps currently in our census, all of which must have come from him, and he used at least 11 stamps on mail to friends, including the strip of three on a Koslowski cover, two used strips of three off cover (the mass mailings were all singles) and two singles on separate Koslowski covers. The earliest known cover is dated at Detroit on May 27, 1908, from Koslowski to a friend in Austria, and the latest is dated April 8, 1909, which was mailed to him using a sheet-margin single from Sicklerville, New Jersey. Apart from the stamps Koslowski used, there is one recorded commercial cover (June 2, 1908) and approximately 32 used single stamps, most of which were probably removed from the mass-mailing covers.

A review of our auction records using Power Search demonstrates how rare Scott 314A is in unused form. We sold one of the two line pairs in our Drucker sale in 2002, a pair in the Zoellner sale in 1998 (since divided into singles), but not one unused example until prior to 1993, which is as far back as our computerized records go.

The two recorded Mint N.H. examples of Scott 314A come from the ex-Lilly strip of five, which was cut into two pairs and one single by Jack E. Molesworth after it appeared in the 1985 Rarities sale. We shall refer to the stamps in that strip as #'s 1-5. Stamp #1 was cut as a single and is described in the 1985 Rarities sale as having slight margin thinning. This single is hinged, although we erroneously reported it as Mint N.H. in our earlier census report. The pair comprising #2-3 was sold as part of the Zoellner collection in 1998, and soon after was divided into the Mint N.H. single (#2) and hinged single (#3, offered as lot 390 in this sale). The pair comprising #4-5 is offered here. The left stamp (#4) is Mint N.H., one of two known in that condition.

Ex Koslowski, Schmalzreidt, Col. Edward H. R. Green and Lilly as part of a strip of five, and ex Connoisseur in its present form. With 1985 and 2003 P.F. certificates (the former as a strip of four). Scott Retail as Mint N.H. and hinged singles

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EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE OF THE MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL STAMP TIED ON COVER. THIS IS AMONG THE FINEST OF THE EIGHT RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE DISTINCTIVE MILLBURY PROVISIONAL DEPICTING GEORGE WASHINGTON. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS COVER HAS BEEN OFFERED AT AUCTION SINCE ITS DISCOVERY IN 1896.

Census No. 7X1-COV-19. Ex Dutcher and Lapham. Small "W.H.C." (Warren H. Colson) handstamp at lower right. With 2011 P.F. certificate. Scott value on cover is $125,000.00.

History of the Millbury provisional and this cover: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/Millbury.pdf

Census of Millbury provisionals: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/7X1/7X1.pdf

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EXTREMELY FINE. THE FINEST OF THREE RECORDED COVERS SURVIVING FROM THE FIRST DAY OF THE PONY EXPRESS. AN IMPORTANT AND WELL-PRESERVED ARTIFACT OF THE LEGENDARY PONY EXPRESS.

The widely-publicized launch of the Pony Express occurred simultaneously in San Francisco and St. Joseph, Missouri, on Tuesday, April 3. With a large crowd gathered at the offices of the Alta Telegraph Company at the corner of Montgomery and Merchant Streets in San Francisco, the mail bag was ceremoniously given to a rider (believed to be James Randall), who galloped away toward the docks. This was essentially for show, because the mail had to be carried by steamer to Sacramento before it started the 1,840-mile journey by horse. Although the Antelope was regularly used for carrying the express mail between San Francisco and Sacramento, that vessel was under repair when the first Pony trip took place, and the steamer New World was used instead. The trip up river in a hard rain took ten hours to reach Sacramento, arriving at 2:40 a.m. on April 4. The first actual Pony rider was William Hamilton, who rode out of Sacramento with the mail at 2:45 a.m. The last rider reached St. Joseph in the late afternoon of April 13, exactly ten days after departure. Historians are uncertain whether Johnny Frye or William Richardson carried the first Pony mail into St. Joseph.

The Alta California reported that the April 3 Pony Express mail contained 56 letters from San Francisco, to which 13 letters were added at Sacramento, one letter more at Placerville and an additional 15 pieces in the form of telegrams and newspaper reports, for a total of 85 pieces. It is not known how many letters were delivered or picked up along the way.

There are two known covers surviving from this eastbound First Trip mail: the cover offered here and another addressed to A. A. Low & Brothers in New York City (ex Dale-Lichtenstein, now in the Walske collection). The “APR 3” date in the Running Pony oval on the Latham cover offered here is more clearly struck than the strike on the Low & Brothers cover. In addition to the two eastbound covers, there is a westbound First Trip cover addressed to Frederick Billings--the attorney of Billings, Montana, fame--which has a clear strike of the St. Joseph non-pictorial oval datestamp. The two-line frank on this 10c entire is recorded on three 3c and six 10c entires.

The cover offered here is addressed to Senator Milton S. Latham, who went to California in 1850 and was elected to Congress on the 1852 Democratic ticket. After his term expired, he declined to run for re-election and served as collector for the port of San Francisco. In 1859 he was elected governor, but he resigned five days after taking office to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Senator David C. Broderick was killed in a duel. Latham was a friend of William H. Russell, the Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Co. president. Latham was a strong supporter of COC&PP in their effort to secure the contract for the Central Route. He was among the few individuals later permitted to send Pony Express letters free of charge.

This cover is recorded in the Nathan-Boggs and Frajola-Kramer-Walske books. We do not have any details of its sale history prior to its last appearance in our sale of the Hall collection in 2000 (Sale 830, lot 797), where it realized $180,000 hammer. Since our sale of the Hall collection, the Low & Brothers cover realized $260,000 hammer and the Billings cover realized the same hammer price in the May 13, 2004, H. R. Harmer sale of the Dale-Lichtenstein collection.

FKW Census E2. Trip ET-1. Ex Hall.

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VERY FINE. A BRIGHT AND FRESH WELL-CENTERED EXAMPLE OF THE FAMOUS INVERTED JENNY.

According to Jenny! by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), William T. Robey purchased the original sheet of 100 inverted "Jenny" stamps on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was placed on sale, at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Col. Edward H. R. Green through Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Green paid $20,000 for the sheet, then instructed Klein to divide it into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

Stamp specialists and professionals know that examples of this stamp come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors over the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinging has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner.

This stamp is in an extraordinary state of freshness, with excellent color, bright paper and clean fresh gum with only a small hinged area.

Ex Haydon and Col. Aisenstadt. With 2000 P.F. certificate

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EXTREMELY FINE. QUITE PROBABLY THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF SCOTT NO. 5 IN EXISTENCE, AND ONE OF ONLY A FEW SOUND EXAMPLES. POSITION 7R1E -- THE SEVENTH STAMP IN THE RIGHT PANE OF PLATE ONE EARLY -- IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE 1,000 POSITIONS USED TO PRINT IMPERFORATE ONE-CENT STAMPS THAT SHOWS THE COMPLETE DESIGN (TYPE I). ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE WITH THE BLUE RICHMOND CIRCULAR DATESTAMP. A MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE OF THE RAREST AND MOST DESIRABLE CLASSIC IMPERFORATE UNITED STATES STAMP.

The published census compiled by Jerome S. Wagshal contains 90 unduplicated records of Scott 5. There has been one addition to the Wagshal census, and there are probably no more than ten examples existing outside of the census population. Therefore, the 1c 1851 Type I is the rarest of all United States stamps issued regularly prior to the 1868 Grills.

Because of the significance attached to the outer portions of the 1c 1851 design, rare types that have been carefully cut apart, so as not to impinge on any part of the design, are extremely desirable. The narrow spacing between stamps in the sheet and the users' indifference to the outlying ornamentation during separation are factors that contributed to the great rarity of four-margin examples. The example offered here comes from the "Warner strip" of Positions 7-9R1E, which was cut apart with a view towards preserving the margins of this stamp. Examples of Position 7R1E (Scott 5) with large right and bottom margins, where there was very little space between it and the adjoining stamps, are true rarities. In fact, using the census data, it may be argued that this stamp is among the two or three finest sound examples known.

Wagshal Census No. 5-CAN-047. Ex Caspary, Twigg-Smith and Hinrichs. With 1976 and 2001 P.F. certificates.

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EXTREMELY FINE. WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE THREE OR FOUR FINEST OF THE 18 RECORDED COPIES OF THE 5-CENT 1880 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY SOFT-PAPER SPECIAL PRINTING.

The 5c 1880 Special Printing on soft paper is one of the most elusive of the Bank Note Special printings. Our census of Scott 204 (available at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/204.pdf) records only 18 copies of this stamp, including one example in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. About one-third of the known stamps have minor faults. Of the dozen sound examples available to collectors, this stamp places among the top three or four in terms of centering and margins. It was Alfred H. Caspary's choice for his legendary collection, and over the years this stamp has stood the test of time as condition standards have become more rigorous. We anticipate a record realization when this magnificent 5c Taylor Special Printing is offered in the Hansen sale.

Census No. 204-UNC-03. Ex Caspary, Ambassador Collection, Cole, Greenblatt, Weisman and Ballman. With 1956, 1988, 2002 and 2008 P.F. certificates, as well as 1991 P.S.E. certificate

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United States 1869 Pictorial Issue

90c Carmine & Black (122). 90c 1869 tied by segmented cork cancel, used with 1870 12c Dull Violet (151), tied by same cork cancel, a missing 10c 1870 has been replaced by a stamp with a similar cancel, the three paying the $1.12 quadruple 28c British Mail via Brindisi rate on legal-size cover addressed to “Mr. Jas. H. Bancroft, Ice House, Calcutta, E. Indies” with sender’s routing “via Brindisi” and “Nevada” ship designation, the cover was actually carried on either the North German Lloyd Rhein or the White Star Line Baltic, both of which departed from New York on Saturday, August 9, 1873, sender’s blue oval datestamp on back “TUDOR COMPANY, BOSTON, AUG. 8, 1873”, red “BOSTON PAID AUG. 8” circular datestamp on front, red “4” in crayon indicates quadruple rate, red crayon “96/4” indicates quadruple credit to Great Britain, red “LONDON PAID 19 AU 73” datestamp applied in transit, carried overland to Brindisi, then by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company’s (P&O) steamer Poonah, departing Brindisi on August 25 and arriving at Alexandria on August 28, carried overland to Suez, “SEA POST OFFICE B 29 8 73” (August 29) oval datestamp on back indicates departure date from Suez on the P&O steamer Orissa (Bombay Line), red “CALCUTTA 15 SEP” receiving datestamp, there is a large sealed tear that passes through the upper left quadrant of the 90c stamp, severing it into two pieces, the stamp has been repaired and the tear in the cover is slightly discolored from sealing adhesive, the 12c stamp has minor faults, the cover’s overall appearance is very attractive, and some modest work by a skillful paper restorer could remove the discoloration from the tear in the cover

THE UNIQUE AND FAMOUS “ICE HOUSE” COVER. THIS IS THE ONLY DOCUMENTED AND AUTHENTICATED EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE USED ON COVER. DISCOVERED IN 1914, LAST OFFERED AT PUBLIC AUCTION IN 1943 AND LOST TO PHILATELY BETWEEN 1967 AND 2006, THE “ICE HOUSE” COVER NOW RETURNS TO THE COLLECTOR MARKET TO TAKE ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE ALONGSIDE THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT PHILATELIC RARITIES.

Illustrated in “Great Stamps Make Greater Covers”, Richard B. Graham, The American Philatelist, October 1977. Ex Squires, Ackerman, Krug, Luerssen and Baker. With 2009 Philatelic Foundation certificate (number 476371).

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United States 1869 Pictorial Issue

90c Carmine & Black (122). 90c 1869 tied by segmented cork cancel, used with 1870 12c Dull Violet (151), tied by same cork cancel, a missing 10c 1870 has been replaced by a stamp with a similar cancel, the three paying the $1.12 quadruple 28c British Mail via Brindisi rate on legal-size cover addressed to "Mr. Jas. H. Bancroft, Ice House, Calcutta, E. Indies" with sender's routing "via Brindisi" and "Nevada" ship designation, the cover was actually carried on either the North German Lloyd Rhein or the White Star Line Baltic, both of which departed from New York on Saturday, August 9, 1873, sender's blue oval datestamp on back "TUDOR COMPANY, BOSTON, AUG. 8, 1873", red "BOSTON PAID AUG. 8" circular datestamp on front, red "4" in crayon indicates quadruple rate, red crayon "96/4" indicates quadruple credit to Great Britain, red "LONDON PAID 19 AU 73" datestamp applied in transit, carried overland to Brindisi, then by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company's (P&O) steamer Poonah, departing Brindisi on August 25 and arriving at Alexandria on August 28, carried overland to Suez, "SEA POST OFFICE B 29 8 73" (August 29) oval datestamp on back indicates departure date from Suez on the P&O steamer Orissa (Bombay Line), red "CALCUTTA 15 SEP" receiving datestamp, there is a large sealed tear that passes through the upper left quadrant of the 90c stamp, severing it into two pieces, the stamp has been repaired and the tear in the cover is slightly discolored from sealing adhesive, the 12c stamp has minor faults, the cover's overall appearance is very attractive, and some modest work by a skillful paper restorer could remove the discoloration from the tear in the cover

THE UNIQUE AND FAMOUS "ICE HOUSE" COVER. THIS IS THE ONLY DOCUMENTED AND AUTHENTICATED EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL ISSUE USED ON COVER. DISCOVERED IN 1914, LAST OFFERED AT PUBLIC AUCTION IN 1943 AND LOST TO PHILATELY BETWEEN 1967 AND 2006, THE "ICE HOUSE" COVER NOW RETURNS TO THE COLLECTOR MARKET TO TAKE ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE ALONGSIDE THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT PHILATELIC RARITIES.

Illustrated in "Great Stamps Make Greater Covers", Richard B. Graham, The American Philatelist, October 1977. Ex Squires, Ackerman, Krug, Luerssen and Baker. With 2009 Philatelic Foundation certificate (number 476371).

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. A REMARKABLY FRESH AND BEAUTIFULLY CENTERED EXAMPLE OF THE FAMOUS 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY". THIS STAMP IS ONE OF THE BETTER-CENTERED POSITIONS FROM THE DISCOVERY SHEET.

According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 Inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased for $24 by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue Branch Post Office window in Washington D.C., on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was first placed on sale at the main post office. On May 20, Robey sold his sheet for $15,000 to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Klein had already arranged to sell the sheet to Col. Edward H. R. Green for $20,000. Colonel Green instructed Klein to divide the Inverted "Jenny" sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of the Inverted "Jenny" come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and a few have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This example is remarkable for its pristine state of preservation and for its centering, equalled by only a few stamps in the original sheet (almost all of the others have disturbed gum or faults).

Ex Stephen Brown and Oscar Lichtenstein. With 1978 P.F. certificate.

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VERY FINE. THE FAMOUS AND UNIQUE POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL OF MOUNT LEBANON, LOUISIANA. THIS REMARKABLE STAMP IS A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE INTENDED DESIGN, WHICH WAS CREATED BY HAMMERING PRINTER'S TYPE INTO A WOOD BLOCK. THE MOUNT LEBANON HAS BEEN DISPLAYED AMONG THE "ARISTOCTRATS OF PHILATELY" AT INTERPHIL '76, AMERIPEX '86 AND ANPHILEX '96, AND IT IS WIDELY REGARDED AS THE MOST VALUABLE STAMP IN CONFEDERATE PHILATELY.

Mount Lebanon was settled in 1847 by immigrants from South Carolina. The village is located in Bienville Parish, which was established in 1848 and named for Jean Baptiste Sieur de Bienville, colonizer of Louisiana and founder of the city of New Orleans. It lies in northern Louisiana, approximately 400 miles distance from New Orleans. Mount Lebanon was the site of the first Baptist church in North Louisiana, and the Baptist Convention founded Mount Lebanon University in 1855. During the Civil War, the school was closed and turned into a hospital -- it moved to Pineville after the war and was re-named Louisiana College. [Reference: www:louisianahistory.ourfamily.com].

According to an account by L. B. Dabney, published in the Southern Philatelist (May 1929) and reprinted in the Crown book (p. 238), the Mount Lebanon postmaster during the war (1859-1865) was W. F. Wells, who was publisher of the Louisiana Baptist newspaper. According to citizens of Mount Lebanon who were interviewed by Dabney for his 1929 article, the provisional stamps were printed by Wells and used briefly in June 1861. Mount Lebanon had a wartime population of less than 1,000, and it is unlikely that the stamp saw widespread use.

Apart from its extreme rarity, the Mount Lebanon provisional stamp is believed to be the sole example of a mirror-image stamp in all of philately. The stamp was printed from a piece of wood with a relatively smooth surface. Lines were incised into the wood and strips were removed to create the borders surrounding each stamp. Horizontal and vertical ruled lines were added within the borders of each subject, and a circle was cut into the center. At this point the "engraver" took printer's type and hammered the letters spelling "Mt. Lebanon La." around the circle, and the numeral "5" was impressed into the center. The enlarged photo shown here in upright position clearly shows the effect of this process -- the printed stamp is a mirror image of the right-reading wood engraving. As anyone familiar with printing knows, the plate used to print an image must mirror the intended design. This principle of typography was missed or ignored by the creator of the Mount Lebanon provisional.

The single known example shows parts of three adjoining subjects at left, at the extreme bottom-left corner, and at bottom (see detail). There is additional printing to the right of the primary impression, which we think is a second impression. Judging from the size, shape and line breaks of this second impression, this might be the bottom of the woodblock, turned 90 degrees. Such work-and-turn printing is found on other provisionals (Memphis 5c, for example). All of this is purely hypothetical, and we encourage others to develop a better explanation.

The Mount Lebanon cover was part of the Ferrary collection sold at auction in Paris in 1925-1927. It next appeared in the Alfred H. Caspary sale held by H. R. Harmer in 1956, where A. Earl Weatherly acquired it for his collection. At the invitation of Weatherly in 1963, Charles and Lucy Kilbourne acquired a number of important provisional rarities by private sale. Thus, the famous Mount Lebanon cover appears at auction for the first time in 43 years. It has been shown in the Aristocrats of Philately display, alongside major philatelic rarities of the world, at Interphil 1976, Ameripex 1986 and Anphilex 1996.

Ex Ferrary, Caspary and Weatherly. Acquired by the Kilbournes from Weatherly in 1963.

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FRESH AND FINE-VERY FINE. A RARE SOUND EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY" ERROR. WITHOUT QUESTION THIS IS THE MOST FAMOUS STAMP IN AMERICAN PHILATELY.

According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 Inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased for $24 by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue Branch Post Office window in Washington D.C., on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was first placed on sale at the main post office. On May 20, Robey sold his sheet for $15,000 to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Klein had already arranged to sell the sheet to Col. Edward H. R. Green for $20,000. Colonel Green instructed Klein to divide the Inverted "Jenny" sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of the Inverted "Jenny" come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and a few have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner.

The stamp offered here, Position 36, is exceptionally fresh and very lightly hinged. It was part of the Sidney A. Hessel collection sold by H. R. Harmer (Part 3, November 305, 1976, lot 1075). Hessel, a long-time collector, might have been the first person to acquire this position when the sheet was broken up by Eugene Klein in 1918 (there is no sale record prior to Hessel's ownership). This would explain its exceptionally fresh condition and the presence of a single faint hinge mark. After the Hessel sale, the stamp was owned by Kenneth Wenger, a New Jersey stamp dealer and investor. It eventually became part of the Windsor collection, which was acquired intact by Perry Hansen.

Ex Hessel, Wenger and Windsor. With 1978, 1996 and 2008 P.F. certificates.

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FINE-VERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE PAIR CONTAINING THE ONLY KNOWN MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 3-CENT ORANGEBURG COIL, SCOTT 389. ONLY TWO UNUSED SINGLES AND SIX UNUSED PAIRS ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF 20TH CENTURY UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

The Orangeburg coil was made by the Post Office Department in 1911, specifically for use by the Bell Pharmaceutical Company. The 3c coil stamps were used to send samples of their products to physicians. Due to the quantity of mail, they were put through the first-class cancelling machine at Orangeburg, New York. The Orangeburg coil stamps' use on third-class mail and the fact that philatelists were generally unaware of their production account for their rarity.

A census of the Orangeburg coil, published in The Philatelic Foundation's Opinions VII book, records two singles and seven unused pairs, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. The 3c Orangeburg pair in our May 2008 sale of the Jay Hoffman collection realized $230,000 hammer versus $140,000 Scott value. It did not contain a Mint Never-Hinged stamp and was centered strongly to one side.

The Scott Catalogue specifically refers to the left stamp in this pair: "There is only one mint, never-hinged example recorded".

With 1997 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as singles (the Mint N.H. single catalogues $225,000.00)

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VERY FINE. A SOUND AND CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED JENNY THAT HAS NOT APPEARED AT AUCTION SINCE 1950.

The original sheet of one hundred Inverted Jenny errors was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918, the first day the stamps went on sale in all three principal airmail route cities: Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia. Robey bought the sheet for its $24 face value at the New York Avenue Post Office window in the District of Columbia. On Sunday, May 19, Robey agreed to give Eugene Klein, a prominent Philadelphia stamp dealer, a one-day option to buy the sheet for $15,000. Klein exercised his option on Monday, May 20, in a late afternoon phone call, and he confirmed it with a registered letter to Robey sent in the evening mail (the letter from Klein is offered in this sale in lot 8). The sheet was delivered to Klein’s office by Robey and his father-in-law on the following day, Tuesday, May 21, 1918.

No later than Monday, May 20, the day Klein exercised his option, he had arranged to sell the sheet for $20,000 to Colonel Edward H. R. Green. Half of the $5,000 profit went to Klein’s partners, Percy McGraw Mann and Joseph A. Steinmetz. Klein was then authorized by Colonel Green to divide the sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks. It is possible to reconstruct the Inverted Jenny sheet with photographs of the singles and blocks (see the reconstruction at https://invertedjenny.com/salerecords ).

Despite the great rarity and value of Inverted Jenny stamps, many of the original hundred have been mistreated by collectors over the years. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Eight straight-edge copies, which Klein returned after he was unable to sell them, were found in Colonel Green’s estate, stuck together in an envelope (they were soaked and lost their gum). Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and one was physically Scotch-taped to an exhibit page. Another was nearly lost to philately forever when it was swept up in a vacuum cleaner. Finally, with the discovery of a third stamp from the stolen McCoy block -- recognized by The Philatelic Foundation’s expert staff when it was submitted by an auction firm -- only one purloined Inverted Jenny remains at large.

The stamp offered here -- Position 28 -- was first offered in auction at the June 1940 Harmer, Rooke sale of the George R. M. Ewing collection. It next appeared at auction in a February 1947 F. W. Kessler sale, consigned by Cuban dealer Alberto Perez. It then appeared in another Harmer, Rooke sale in 1949. The Price family acquired Position 28 on November 29, 1950, when Milton Price purchased the stamp at another Harmer, Rooke sale, consigned by E. E. Kistner. Milton Price was an avid collector of U.S. stamps from the 1930s through the 50s until he unexpectedly died in 1961. His collection of 19 Elbe albums was put into a vault until 1992, when it was dispersed and sold. Don David Price, Milton’s son, retained five of the stamps, including the Inverted Jenny Position 28. These five stamps formed the core of Don’s two renowned exhibits -- the Bi-Color stamp exhibit, which was sold by the Siegel firm in March 2016, and the Jenny exhibit, which is offered in this sale.

With photocopy of 1951 P.F. certificate issued to Milton Price and 2016 P.F. certificate, which states “Genuine, Previously Hinged”.

For the complete history and detailed records of every Inverted Jenny and owners' biographies, go to http://invertedjenny.com

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE 1868 10-CENT Z GRILL IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS. ONLY FOUR OR POSSIBLY FIVE EXAMPLES ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND ONE OF THE KEYS TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS. OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS.

Our census of the 10c Z Grill is shown on the opposite page and is also available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/85D/85D.pdf

The great Z Grill rarities are probably the products of a short-lived chance encounter between sheets of 1c, 10c and 15c stamps and the Z Grill roller on one of the grilling machines before the device was refitted with another grill type. The craftsmen at the National Bank Note Company could never have foreseen a future in which these embossed stamps would represent the keys to completing a United States stamp collection.

We record just six examples of Scott 85D, including one stamp contained in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library (85D-CAN-06) and another stamp (85D-CAN-01) which has not been seen since it last appeared in a Laurence & Stryker auction in November 1958. Until the status of 85D-CAN-01 can be verified, it is possible that only four examples of the 10c Z Grill remain available to collectors.

Census No. 85D-CAN-03. Discovered by Lester G. Brookman and illustrated in Volume II of his reference work on 19th Century United States stamps (page 136). Ex Wilbur H. Schilling, Jr. and offered to the market for the first time since our 1975 Rarities sale (where acquired by the current owner). With 1945 A.P.S. and 2015 P.F. certificates. Footnote in Scott Catalogue notes "Value is for a well-centered example with small faults".

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VERY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS BEARING THE $4.00 BLACK PONY EXPRESS STAMP -- BOTH ORIGINATING IN HAWAII AND CARRIED ON THE SAME PONY TRIP -- AND THE FIRST OF THESE TWO SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS TO BE OFFERED AT PUBLIC AUCTION. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE HALL COLLECTION AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COVERS IN UNITED STATES POSTAL HISTORY.

This envelope was used in 1861 to send documents from the United States consul in Honolulu, Hawaii, to John C. Underwood, the fifth auditor of the United States Treasury in Washington D.C. It has a nearly-identical mate, with the same postal markings applied on the same days, and also bearing the $4.00 Black Pony stamp. The only differences between the two covers are the color of the consulate label -- red on this cover and green on the other -- and the notation "By Pony -- Vouchers by regular mail" on the other cover. Based on the notation, it seems that a separate set of vouchers relating to the contents of the Pony Express covers was sent from the consul in Hawaii to Washington by regular government mails.

The first Pony Express stamps were issued in April 1861 after Wells, Fargo & Co. became involved in operating the express over the central route. The stamps bear the Wells, Fargo & Co. name, and they were issued in $2.00 Red and $4.00 Green denominations, to pay the single and double Pony Express rate per half-ounce. When the rates were lowered to $1.00 per half-ounce on July 1, 1861, a new set of stamps was required. The second issue comprises the $1.00 Red, $2.00 Green and $4.00 Black. The $2.00 and $4.00 Second Issue stamps are very rare in used condition -- unused stamps were probably among remainders on hand when the Pony Express was terminated in November 1861. Only three covers are recorded with the $2.00 Green. Of course, there are only two $4.00 Black Pony covers. The $4.00 stamp paid the quadruple Pony Express charge for a letter weighing between 1-1/2 and 2 ounces.

Each of the $4.00 Black Pony covers has the McRuer & Merrill backstamp, which indicates that this private firm was responsible for transmission of both letters from Hawaii to San Francisco. McRuer & Merrill is listed in the 1861 Langley San Francisco city directory (Valentine & Co., publishers) as follows: "McRuer (D.) Co. & Merrill (John C.), auction, shipping, and commission merchants, agents Honolulu packets, 117 and 119 California, dwl 18 Laurel Place." (appreciation to Stanley M. Piller for this citation). It is possible that McRuer & Merrill wrote "$4 Pony" in pencil on each cover and paid for the stamps. The presence of the large Wells, Fargo & Co. double-circle datestamp on each cover is unusual, suggesting that McRuer & Merrill may have brought them to a Wells, Fargo & Co. office or agent, who then turned them over to someone else responsible for preparing Pony Express mail for the trip.

The $4.00 Black Pony cover offered here reached the philatelic market through H. P. Atherton. In a 1932 advertisement, he stated "For Sale -- A perfect $4.00 Black W-F Pony Stamp used on a large Envelope bearing a red seal of The U.S. Consulate at Hawaii, on the reverse. Price on application. H. P. Atherton, 1562 Main St., Springfield, Mass." The "red seal" identifies this cover as the one sold by Atherton, and the Halls' notation on back identifies him as the source in 1932. The other cover -- with the green seal -- was in the Henry Needham collection, which Eugene Costales handled in the late 1940's and early 1950's. John R. Boker Jr. reports that he acquired all of the Needham material with the exception of one item that Costales promised to Alfred F. Lichtenstein -- the $4.00 Black Pony cover -- and that cover remains in the Dale-Lichtenstein family today.

With Philatelic Foundation certificate number 350,000, issued to the Estate of John H. Hall, Jr., on August 15, 2000, stating "It is a genuine usage."

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EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT BLOCK OF THE 4-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT. ONLY SEVEN BLOCKS ARE RECORDED, AND THIS IS AMONG THE BEST-CENTERED. A FABULOUS 20TH CENTURY PHILATELIC RARITY.

The 4c Pan-American Invert was not regularly issued. According to Sloane, an erroneous report reached the Post Office department that the 4c had been discovered with inverted center. Edwin C. Madden, the 3rd Assistant Postmaster General, remarked that if any were found they should not be destroyed but kept for the archives. None was found, but two sheets of inverts (400 stamps total) were deliberately printed. This caused an uproar as it was not clear at first whether these had been deliberately ordered by Madden (in violation of his duties). He was later exonerated of any wrongdoing.

Examples were distributed through two official channels. One sheet was overprinted with "Specimen". A total of 106 copies, both with and without "Specimen", were distributed to friends and dignitaries. 197 were destroyed. One pane of 100 was retained by the Post Office Department and was stuck down on a ledger page in the Post Office archives. The sheet was broken up in about 1916 or 1917, and 97 copies were traded in exchange for material needed for the government collection. Since most of the stamps were removed from the mounting paper, they are generally thinned or have seriously disturbed gum.

A review of our Levi records located seven blocks of four. Two of the blocks have perfs cutting into the design. One has not been seen since the 1944 Col. Edward H. R. Green auction and has probably been broken into singles, and another has not been seen since 1970. Of the other two well-centered blocks, one has a crease and thin spots, and the other has a small tear on the bottom left stamp.

With 1998 P.F. certificate

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FINE APPEARANCE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF SCOTT 164, THE 24-CENT ON RIBBED PAPER, WHICH IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE 1873 CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE COMPANY PRINTING.

In January 1873 the stamp contract was awarded to the Continental Bank Note Company (Continental), a competitor of the National Bank Note Company (National), who held the contract since 1861. Under the terms of Continental's contract, which took effect May 1, 1873, the firm was required to have "on hand in the company's vault, on that date…a sufficient supply of stamps, approved and accepted by the Stamp Agent, as complying with the terms of manufacture, quality of product, etc. to meet all foreseeable withdrawals of stamps…This to apply to ALL denominations…" This requirement provides the historical basis for assuming that Continental actually printed, gummed and perforated a supply of 24c stamps.

In April 1873 all of National's dies and plates were turned over to Continental. Secret marks were added to the dies of all values, and new plates were made for the 1c thru 15c denominations (although there is some debate over the presence of a secret mark on the 15c). For the 24c, 30c and 90c values, the same National plates were used by Continental. Therefore, philatelists separate National and Continental printings of the 30c and 90c according to differences in shade, paper, perforations and gum. However, identifying the 24c Continental has always presented difficulty, and, for a time, the Scott Catalogue dropped the 24c (Scott 164) from its listings, because it was believed that no reliable method existed to distinguish Continental's printing from National's.

William E. Mooz, a leading researcher on stamp production during the period from 1870 through the 1880's, has carefully analyzed the government records of stamp manufacture and delivery. His analysis of the 24c Continental appeared in an article published in the Chronicle (No. 185, February 2000). According to Mooz, the records show that the government Stamp Agent, D. M. Boyd, arranged for National to sell its remaining supply of stamps, including the 24c, just as its contract expired on April 30, 1873. A large portion of this supply was then "sold" by the government to Continental in October 1873 in exchange for a credit. At the end of Continental's contract period, a large quantity of 24c stamps was purchased from Continental and later destroyed.

Mooz's hypothesis is that the Stamp Agent cooperated with National in off-loading a large supply of product on Continental, then helped Continental sell the unwanted supply back to the government. The essence of this unusual arrangement is that Continental never had a reason to print 24c stamps durings its contract period, other than meeting the requirement to have stamps on hand on May 1, 1873, and as necessary for the 1875 Special Printing program. The stamps printed by Continental prior to May 1, 1873, would have been co-mingled with the supply of National's product transferred to Continental through the Stamp Agent. Any stamps issued after May 1, 1873, could have originated from this hybrid supply. Eyewitness testimony confirms that Continental had 120,700 of the 24c stamp in its vaults in September 1873, which predates the documented arrival of National's 24c stamps; therefore, it is presumed that the 120,700 stamps inventoried in Continental's vaults were their own product.

This peculiar historical circumstance helps to establish that Continental printed 24c stamps. Nonetheless, it is currently impossible to distinguish the Continental printing from National's. Both printings were available after May 1873, making identification by date of use practical only for National printings on covers dated prior to May 1873. The shades of the 24c are too varied to classify and segregate by printer. The papers used by National and Continental are, for the most part, indistinguishable by printer.

"For the most part" is the key phrase of the last statement. Ribbed paper shows either horizontal or vertical ribbed lines at the rate of approximately 40 lines per inch. The existence and nature of ribbed paper was reported in great detail by H. L. Wiley in his booklet The U.S. 3c Green 1870-1887. Philatelists have studied Bank Note stamps (regular and official issues) on various papers for many years, and, to date, ribbed paper was used in connection with verifiable Continental printings in almost every case. Thus, philatelists generally agree that Ribbed Paper = Continental Printing.

Therefore, the certification of a 24c stamp on ribbed paper was heralded as the discovery of the Holy Grail, a 24c printed by Continental. The stamp was reported by Dr. Richard M. Searing in the Chronicle (No. 128, November 1985). Although that article misstated the orientation of the ribbing as horizontal and inaccurately described the shade of the stamp as an unusual bluish purple, it raised the issue of classification and argued persuasively that the 24c on ribbed paper should be identified as a Continental printing.

After the discovery of the 24c Ribbed Paper stamp, the Scott Catalogue reinstated the 24c Continental printing as No. 164. However, the initial catalogue entry was ambiguous in defining ribbed paper as the unique qualifying feature of Scott 164. Thus, collectors were faced with two major numbers, Scott 153 and 164, which essentially possessed the same characteristics. This situation was rectified by the Scott editor, James Kloetzel, with the explanatory footnote: "The Philatelic Foudnation has certified as genuine a 24c on vertically ribbed paper, and that is the unique stamp listed as No. 164. Specialists believe that only Continental used ribbed paper. It is not known for sure whether or not Continental also printed the 24c value on regular paper; if it did, specialists currently are not able to distinguish these from No. 153" [author's emphasis].

Numerous misstatements about the quantities of National and Continental 24c stamps printed and issued have been made by various writers, most of whom were simply repeating and drawing conclusions from John N. Luff's inaccurate reporting of a Continental printing of 365,000 stamps. The Mooz analysis and historical documentation prove that it is impossible to say how many 24c Continental stamps were printed or issued, only that some were printed by Continental prior to May 1, 1873, to meet the terms of their contract. The stamp offered here may, in fact, be one of many 24c Continentals released to the public from the hybrid National/Continental supply. However, it is the only 24c currently certified on ribbed paper, and, to the best of our knowledge, this paper gives it the unique qualification for attribution to Continental.

The singular certified example of Scott 164, the 24c on ribbed paper, is offered here, presenting collectors with the opportunity to acquire the key to a complete collection of 19th Century United States stamps.

Discovered in 1967. With 1992 P.F. certificate

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THE FINEST USED EXAMPLE OF THE HAWAIIAN 2-CENT MISSIONARY

Our census of 2c Missionaries (Appendix I) shows that, of the fifteen recorded examples (four of which are in museums), only two sound stamps exist off cover - the unique unused copy (previous lot) and the beautifully cancelled stamp offered here. All of the other twelve off-cover used 2c Missionaries are defective or repaired. Only one other bears this Honolulu cancel (Census No. 1-I-CAN-3, Appendix I), but on that repaired example the marking is struck so faintly, it is indiscernible.

This stamp first appeared at public auction in the second sale of the Count Philippe de la Renotiere von Ferrary collection, held at the Hotel Drouot in Paris on October 13-15, 1921, under the supervision of M. G. Gilbert. In Stamps of Fame (p. 99 and 105) the Williams brothers cite a reference to a complete set of Hawaiian Missionaries in the Judge Frederick A. Philbrick collection, which they identify as Ferrary's probable source of this 2c Missionary. The Philbrick collection, which Ferrary acquired in 1882, was reputed to be the finest in England at that time and formed an important foundation for Ferrary's collecting efforts (Bierman, World's Greatest Stamp Collectors).

At the Ferrary sale, this stamp realized the equivalent of $7,710, a price comparable to the $8,394 paid for the ex-Philbrick Mauritius 1p and 2p "Post Office" piece in the same sale. The buyer was Theodore Champion, who acquired the 2c Missionary for his own collection. There is no further record of the stamp until the November 16, 1966, sale of Hawaii held by H. R. Harmer of New York, on behalf of Louise Boyd Dale, daughter of Alfred F. Lichtenstein. The offering is described as "Including the original collection formed by the late Alfred F. Lichtenstein, Offered without reserve by order of his daughter." In this auction the 2c Missionary - Lichtenstein's only example - realized $30,000, selling to Raymond H. Weill Co. of New Orleans. The stamp was placed in the collection of Mr. P., alongside the unused 2c Missionary and the cover. After the Weills acquired the P. collection in 1969 for $4.07 million, the stamp was held in stock until 1970 when it was sold to Thurston Twigg-Smith.

Illustrated in Smithsonian magazine and Rare Stamps, L. N. and M. Williams (p. 25).

Ex Ferrary (probably from Philbrick collection), Champion, Lichtenstein, Mr. P. Collection, Twigg-Smith. Census No. 1-I-CAN-4. Other census references: Meyer-Harris 7, Brewster 1-I-Used-1. With 1995 P.F. certificate. Scott value for a repaired example with the usual black cancel is $175,000.00

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EXTREMELY FINE. THIS STAMP IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE $9.00 1875 CONTINENTAL NEWSPAPER SPECIAL PRINTING. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE INMAN NEWSPAPERS & PERIODICALS COLLECTION AND ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS.

Official records of the Special Printings indicate that a total of 500 of the $9.00 stamps were received in 1875. On July 16, 1884, 496 were still on hand. Only four copies were sold in a nine-year period, including two to German collector/dealer Paul Lietzow, who was also the buyer of the only recorded example of the $24.00, which realized $430,000 hammer in our 2014 Rarities of the World sale. The other two buyers of $9.00 Special Printings were David H. Anthony and Stanley Gibbons (London). This is the only example known to have survived from the original four that were sold.

Ex "Troy", Lutwak and Drucker. With 1982 and 2002 P.F. certificates.

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE PAIR OF THE RARE 1908 ONE-CENT VERTICAL COIL, SCOTT 316. OUR CENSUS RECORDS ONLY TWELVE PAIRS AND ONE SINGLE. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST PAIRS IN EXISTENCE.

According to Johl, these first government coils were an experiment, and collectors and dealers were generally unaware of their existence. Regular sheets of 400 were printed and then perforated in only one direction. They were then cut into strips of 20. The strips were then pasted together to form rolls.

It is unknown exactly how many of these experimental coils were produced (one paste-up pair is known). They were superseded less than a year later by the Washington-Franklin issue coils, the first of which were issued on December 29, 1908.

Our census of Scott 316, which is available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/316.pdf records nine pairs, three line pairs (one of which is rejoined) and an unused single, for a total of 25 stamps. None are known used.

Census No. 316-OG-PR-01. Ex Engel as part of a strip of three, ex "Connoisseur" (McNall) and Zoellner as a pair. With 1961 P.F. certificate as the strip and 1992 P.F. certificate as a pair

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. ONE OF THE WIDEST-MARGINED AND FRESHEST EXAMPLES OF THE FAMOUS INVERTED JENNY.

According to Jenny! by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was placed on sale. Robey bought the sheet at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Col. Edward H. R. Green through Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Green paid $20,000 for the sheet, then instructed Klein to divide it into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of this stamp come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinging has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This Position 69 stamp is in an extraordinary state of freshness, with excellent color and brightness.

With 1970 P.F. certificate

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. ONE OF THE FINEST OF THE 18 RECORDED COPIES OF THE 5-CENT 1880 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY SOFT-PAPER SPECIAL PRINTING. THIS IS ONLY THE THIRD EXAMPLE WE HAVE OFFERED IN MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS.

Our census of Scott 204, published in our Zoellner catalogue and updated at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/204/204.htm records only 18 copies of this stamp, including one example in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. It is the second most elusive of the Bank Note Special Printings. The last example we offered at auction was in our 1998 Zoellner sale.

Census No. 204-UNC-17. Ex Lyons. Signed Stern and with Colson backstamp. With 1994 and 2006 P.F. certificates (XF 90)

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EXTREMELY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED 5-CENT AND 10-CENT 1847 COMBINATION COVER TO BELGIUM. A MAGNIFICENT FRANKING, PAYING THE UNITED STATES DOMESTIC RATE AND TRANSATLANTIC PACKET POSTAGE DURING THE RETALIATORY-RATE PERIOD.

The so-called Retaliatory Period resulted from Great Britain's effort to maintain its monopoly on transatlantic mail carriage through the subsidized Cunard steamship line, which operated without competition from 1840 through 1846. In response to the emergence of subsidized American packets in 1847, the British issued an order (effective June 9, 1847) authorizing its receiving offices to collect the usual British packet postage on letters delivered by American mail steamers. The order effectively treated prepaid American packet letters arriving in England as if they had been sent unpaid, and the British collected sea postage from the addressee when no service had been rendered.

The United States vehemently protested the British order through diplomatic channels, but efforts to persuade the government to rescind the anti-American postal tariff were unsuccessful. In December 1847, U.S. Postmaster General Cave Johnson petitioned Congress for power to levy like charges on mail carried by British steamers to or from the United States, but he was not authorized to do so until June 1848. On all Cunard sailings from June 24, 1848 (the Caledonia from Liverpool) through December 31, 1848 (the Europa arriving at New York), American packet postage was charged whether or not one of the American vessels was used. Beginning with the departure of the Europa from New York on January 10, 1849, earlier rates were restored, and soon after the new U.S.-British treaty rate was effected.

This cover to Belgium reflects the dispute between Great Britain and the United States, because it had to be carried to Liverpool for further transit to Ostend and Gand, Belgium. The well-informed sender designated the sailing of the Cunarder Niagara from Boston and prepaid 10c domestic postage plus the 24c British packet rate (1c overpayment). The letter originated in Charleston and was put on the Spofford & Teleston Line's Northerner, a contract mail steamer bound for New York. On arrival in New York it entered the foreign-mail office as a fully-prepaid letter. On arrival at Liverpool, the American prepayment was ignored, and "1/8" (one shilling, eight pence) for British packet service was debited to Belgium. This amount, re-stated as 20 decimes Belgian currency plus 4 decimes internal postage, was collected from the addressee (approximately 48c).

This remarkable cover, bearing both first issues of the United States -- including a strip of the 10c -- was discussed in detail in Ashbrook's Special Service (Photograph No. 60) and is signed by him on back. It has at various times been described as one of the most important and valuable covers in classic American philately.

Illustrated in Brookman (p. 79), Hargest (pp. 101-102) and Winter (pp. 11-12). Ex Waterhouse, Gibson, Brigham, Pope, Kapiloff and Craveri. With 1998 P.F. certificate

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL INVERT, AND ONE OF ONLY TWO OR THREE SOUND COPIES. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Only seven unused examples of the 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue with inverted flags are known. Only one has original gum (recently sold in our auction of the Beverly Hills collection for $600,000 hammer). The other six have no gum. Of the seven unused copies, the original-gum example is sound, as is the example offered here. One other is potentially sound, but has not been seen since 1960. Therefore, it is possible that this and the original-gum example are the only two completely sound unused examples of the 30c 1869 Pictorial Invert.

Census No. 121b-UNC-02. Ex Colonel Stillwell (Siegel Sale 413, sold by order of U.S. Trust Co.). Acquired by the current owner in our 1975 Rarities sale. With 2014 P.F. certificate.

Click here for a census of the unused 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue Inverts: http://siegelauctions.com/2013/1052/30c_Unused.pdf

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE PAIR OF THE RARE ONE-CENT VERTICAL COIL, SCOTT 316. OUR CENSUS RECORDS ONLY TWELVE PAIRS AND ONE SINGLE. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST PAIRS IN EXISTENCE.

According to Johl, these first government coils were an experiment, and collectors and dealers were generally unaware of their existence. Regular sheets of 400 were printed and then perforated in only one direction. They were then cut into strips of 20. The strips were then pasted together to form rolls (one paste-up pair is known).

It is unknown exactly how many of these experimental coils were produced. They were superseded less than a year later by the Washington-Franklin issue coils, the first of which were issued on December 29, 1908.

Our census of Scott 316, which is available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/316.pdf , records nine pairs, three line pairs (one of which is rejoined) and an unused single, for a total of 25 stamps. None are known used.

Census No. 316-OG-PR-05. Ex Dr. Agris and Whitman. With 1956, 1982, 1997 and 2008 P.F. certificates.

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VERY FINE. ONE OF SIX RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE ALEXANDRIA POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL ON BUFF PAPER, OF WHICH THREE ARE TYPE I (SCOTT 1X1) AND THREE ARE TYPE II (SCOTT 1X1a). THIS IS THE FAMOUS WORTHINGTON-CASPARY-PHILLIPS-LILLY COPY, WHICH WAS DISCOVERED IN 1894. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND OFFERED AT AUCTION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 36 YEARS.

Census No. 1X1-CAN-03. With 1971 P.F. certificate. Discovered by W. F. Lambert, a partner of J. Murray Bartels, in 1894. Ex Shryock, Worthington, Caspary, B.D. Phillips and Lilly. Accompanied by July 26, 1846 stampless cover from Alexandria.

History of the Alexandria provisional: http://siegelauctions.com/enc/pdf/Alexandria.pdf

Census of Alexandria provisionals: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/1X1-1X2/1X1-1X2.pdf

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FRESH AND VERY FINE. THIS STRIP OF THREE IS THE LARGEST RECORDED MULTIPLE OF THE 4-CENT IMPERFORATE, SCOTT 314A. ONLY ONE OTHER IS AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS, AND IT IS ON COVER. ONE OF THE GREATEST TWENTIETH CENTURY UNITED STATES RARITIES. OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 35 YEARS.

With the rising popularity of vending and affixing machines, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing received numerous requests from manufacturers for supplies of imperforate stamps, which could then be privately perforated to conform to each firm's machine. In May 1908, a supply of 25 sheets (400 stamps per sheet) of the 4c 1902 Issue, without perforations, was delivered to the Schermack Mailing Machine Co. in Detroit. The entire supply was cut into coils with Schermack Type III perforations, designed for the firm's patented affixing machine and delivered to the Winfield Printing Co. for use on mass mailings of advertising material. Approximately 6,000 were used on a mailing for Hamilton Carhartt Manufacturer, and almost all of the 4,000 balance were used on a mailing for Burroughs Adding Machine Co.

All of the Scott 314A stamps that exist in unused condition, the two used off-cover multiples and two of the three covers originate from a local Detroit stamp collector, Karl Koslowski, who was the only one to purchase some of the 4c Imperforates, either from the Winfield Printing Company or from the Schermack firm. His earliest account of the event appeared two years later in the Philadelphia Stamp News, and is considered to be the most reliable of several conflicting stories told by Koslowski (and interpreted by others) at later dates. In the 1910 article, Koslowski explains that he purchased 50 stamps and expected to be able to buy more, but the supply was destroyed when he returned.

We can account for 32 of the 50 stamps Koslowski claims he acquired. There are 21 unused stamps currently in our census, all of which must have come from him, and he used at least 11 stamps on mail to friends, including the strip of three on a Koslowski cover, this used strip of three off cover (the mass mailings were all singles), a used pair and two singles on separate Koslowski covers. The earliest known cover is dated at Detroit on May 27, 1908, from Koslowski to a friend in Austria, and the latest is dated April 8, 1909, which was mailed to him using a sheet-margin single from Sicklerville, New Jersey. Apart from the stamps Koslowski used, there is one recorded commercial cover (June 2, 1908) and approximately 32 used single stamps, most of which were probably removed from the mass-mailing covers.

The only recorded used multiples of Scott 314A are two strips of three (one of which is on cover) and a pair in the Miller Collection at The New York Public Library that will never be available to collectors.

Ex Sinkler and Goldsmith. Acquired by the current owner in a 1980 Sotheby's sale. With 1956 and 1975 P.F. certificates. The Scott Catalogue does not list multiples in used condition. Scott Retail as three singles

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. ONE OF THE TWO FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE 90 CENT 1861 RE-ISSUE IN USED CONDITION. ONLY FOUR USED COPIES ARE KNOWN TO EXIST. AN OUTSTANDING CLASSIC RARITY.

The footnote in Scott Catalogue at the end of the Re-Issue section states that "Five examples are recorded of No. 111 used, one of which has a non-contemporaneous cancel. Value is for centered and sound example (two are known thus.)"

The four recorded used copies of this stamp are as follows: 1) Census No. 111-CAN-01, sound and superbly centered, ex Sheriff, Zoellner (Siegel Sale 804, lot 275, realized $40,000 hammer), the stamp offered here; 2) Census No. 111-CAN-02, oval grid cancel, ex Twigg-Smith (Siegel Sale 835, lot 216, realized $50,000 hammer); 3) Census No. 111-CAN-03, sound, duplex cancel, centered slightly to top, from our 1986 Rarities sale (lot 97); and 4) Census No. 111-CAN-04, centered to top, small corner creases at top left with one ending in a small tear, offered in the Ameripex auction. They are illustrated in the census on our website at http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/111.pdf

Ex Sheriff and Zoellner. With 2006 P.F. certificate (XF 90; SMQ $160,000.00)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A REMARKABLY FRESH AND BEAUTIFULLY CENTERED EXAMPLE OF THE FAMOUS 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY". THIS STAMP IS ONE OF THE BEST-CENTERED POSITIONS FROM THE DISCOVERY SHEET.

According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of 100 Inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased for $24 by William T. Robey at the New York Avenue Branch Post Office window in Washington D.C., on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was first placed on sale at the main post office. On May 20, Robey sold his sheet for $15,000 to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Klein had already arranged to sell the sheet to Col. Edward H. R. Green for $20,000. Colonel Green instructed Klein to divide the Inverted "Jenny" sheet into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.

It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of the Inverted "Jenny" come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately -- or nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This example is remarkable for its pristine state of preservation and for its centering, equalled by only a few stamps in the original sheet (almost all of the others have disturbed gum or faults).

Ex Steffan and Bruechig. With 1969 and 2005 P.F. certificates (the latter graded VVF-XF 85) and 2005 P.S.E. certificate (VF-XF 85). In our opinion, this stamp deserves a grade of XF 90)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL INVERT, ONLY TWO OR THREE OF WHICH ARE SOUND. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Only seven unused examples of the 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue with inverted flags are known. Only one has original gum (recently sold in our auction of the "Beverly Hills" collection for $600,000 hammer). The other six have no gum. Of the seven unused copies, the original-gum example is sound, as is the example offered here. One other is potentially sound, but has not been seen since 1960. Therefore, it is possible that this and the original-gum example are the only two completely sound unused examples of the 30c 1869 Pictorial Invert.

Census No. 121b-UNC-02. Ex Colonel Stillwell (Siegel Sale 413, sold by order of U.S. Trust Company). With 2014 P.F. certificate.

Click here for a census of the unused 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue Inverts: http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/121b/121b.pdf

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONE OF SEVEN RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THE 30-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL INVERT. ONE OF THE GREATEST RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Only seven unused examples of the 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue with inverted flags are known. Only one has original gum (recently sold in our auction of the "Beverly Hills" collection for $600,000 hammer). The other six have no gum. Of the seven unused copies, the original-gum example is sound. One other is confirmed as sound (our 2014 Rarities sale) and one other may potentially be sound.

Census No. 121b-UNC-06. Ex Ward, Sinkler, Heathcote, Shafer and "Newport." With 1967 and 2007 P.F. certificates.

Our census of the unused 30c 1869 Pictorial Issue Inverts is available at: http://siegelauctions.com/2013/1052/30c_Unused.pdf

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE 1868 10-CENT Z GRILL IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL UNITED STATES STAMPS. ONLY FOUR OR POSSIBLY FIVE EXAMPLES ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND ONE OF THE KEYS TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS.

Our census of the 10c Z Grill is shown on the opposite page and is also available at our website at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/85D/85D.pdf

The great Z Grill rarities are probably the products of a short-lived chance encounter between sheets of 1c, 10c and 15c stamps and the Z Grill roller on one of the grilling machines before the device was refitted with another grill type. The craftsmen at the National Bank Note Company could never have foreseen a future in which these embossed stamps would represent the keys to completing a United States stamp collection.

We record just six examples of Scott 85D, including one stamp contained in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library (85D-CAN-06) and another stamp (85D-CAN-01) which has not been seen since it last appeared in a Laurence & Stryker auction in November 1958. Until the status of 85D-CAN-01 can be verified, it is possible that only four examples of the 10c Z Grill remain available to collectors.

Ex Herzog and Zoellner. With 1973, 1986, 1998 and 2009 P.F. certificates.

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VERY FINE. A SOUND AND DISTINCTIVE EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED JENNY FROM THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF ROBY'S DISCOVERY SHEET OF 100.

The original sheet of one hundred Inverted Jenny errors was purchased by William T. Robey on 14 May 1918, the first day the stamps went on sale in all three principal airmail route cities: Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia. Robey bought the sheet for its $24 face value at the New York Avenue Post Office window in the District of Columbia. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Colonel Edward H. R. Green through Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Green paid $20,000 for Robey’s sheet, then instructed Klein to divide it into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks. It is possible to reconstruct the Inverted Jenny sheet with photographs of the singles and blocks (see the reconstruction at https://invertedjenny.com/salerecords ).

Despite the great rarity and value of Inverted Jenny stamps, many of the original hundred have been mistreated by collectors over the years. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Eight straight-edge copies that Klein was unable to sell and returned to Colonel Green were found in Green’s estate stuck together in an envelope (they were soaked and lost their gum). Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and one was physically Scotch-taped to an exhibit page. Another was nearly lost to philately forever when it was swept up in a vacuum cleaner. Finally, with the discovery of a third stamp from the stolen McCoy block--recognized by The Philatelic Foundation’s expert staff when it was submitted by an auction firm--only one purloined Inverted Jenny remains at large.

The stamp offered here -- Position 100 -- was first offered in auction at the October 1945 sale of the Colonel Green collection, when it was still part of a pair with the stamp above, Position 90. A stipulation of the offering was that the pair would be broken only if bids for singles exceeded those for the pair. It was separated from Position 90 shortly after the auction. It next appeared at auction in the 1961 Kessler auction of the Rafael Oriol Collection, who had brought his stamp collection with him when fleeing Cuban nationalization in 1959. Position 100 next appeared in the 1982 Siegel auction of the Martin L. Butzel Collection of Worldwide Air Post, where it sold to Irwin Weinberg, who later traded it to Kenneth Wenger for a stamp collection and cash. It was offered in the Bennett auctions of the Michael D. Rubin and Ron L. Scott collections, and purchased again by Mr. Weinberg.

With 1999 P.F. certificate which states "Genuine, Previously Hinged"

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FINE-VERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF SIX OF THE $3.00 COLUMBIAN ISSUE. THIS EXAMPLE FROM THE TOP POSITION COULD BE UNIQUE.

We have only been able to locate three $3.00 Columbian plate blocks: 1) top position, the example offered here, ex Crocker as a plate block of ten (sold November 1938), then offered in a Eugene Klein auction in August 1940 as a plate block of six and block of four, with the option to keep it together (photo shows the intact block of ten), and Siegel 1988 Rarities sale in its present form; 2) bottom plate no. 106, plate no. at right, ex Lilly and Kobacker; and 3) bottom plate no. 106, plate no. at right, narrow selvage, no gum, top left stamp slight thin, well-centered, ex Franklin J. Willock (Harmer, Rooke sale, Jan. 13, 1953, lot 429) and 1980 Manning sale.

Ex Crocker as a plate block of ten. With 1988 P.F. certificate. The Scott Catalogue value, at $95,000.00, is far too low, probably because none have come on the market since the 1991 Kobacker sale. We have estimated this based on realizations for other dollar-value plate blocks.

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