Sale 920 — United States Rarities
Sale Date — Tuesday, 17 October, 2006
Category — 1870-93 Bank Note Issues
12c Dull Violet, Grill (140). H. Grill, almost perfectly centered, beautiful pastel shade on bright paper, noticeable grill points, light strike of target cancelEXTREMELY FINE. UNUSUALLY CHOICE CENTERING FOR THE 12-CENT 1870 NATIONAL GRILLED ISSUE.
With 1997 P.S.E. and 1998 P.F. certificates
30c Black, Grill (143). H. Grill, rich color, precise centering, clear grill points, cork cancelVERY FINE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1870 30-CENT GRILLED NATIONAL ISSUE.
With 1997 P.F. certificate
7c Vermilion (149). Original gum, lightly hinged, beautiful deep rich color, vibrant shade and sharp proof-like impression, perfectly centered with wide even margins all aroundEXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 7-CENT 1870 NATIONAL BANK NOTE ISSUE.
With 2002 P.F. certificate
24c Purple (153). Original gum, marvelous intense shade and impression, essentially perfect centering with wide balanced margins all aroundEXTREMELY FINE GEM. THE 1870 24-CENT NATIONAL BANK NOTE CO. ISSUE IS RARELY ENCOUNTERED IN THIS SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM CONDITION. WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES WE HAVE EVER OFFERED.
With 2004 P.F. and 2005 P.S.E. certificates
Continental Grill Essay (79-E16b). 152 x 74mm card containing 18 impressions of the Continental grill plus end roller grill at right, ms. "Grill of Continental Bank Note Co. Chas. F. Steel" at center, fresh and Very Fine, dramatically undercatalogued in Scott, an example with 28 grill impressions (and no end roller) realized $3,250 hammer in our Sale 890 auction of the Lake Shore Collection.
3c Green, Double Impression (158j). Rich color, light strike of cork cancel and part of circular datestamp leaves double impression clearly visible, short perf at bottom rightFINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 1873 3-CENT CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE ISSUE WITH DOUBLE IMPRESSION. ONLY FOUR OR FIVE ARE RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS.
Our records include four which have received genuine P.F. certificates, but one of these has subsequently received a P.F. certificate as a kiss print (and realized $2,100 hammer in our Sale 914). Those three (or four, if counting the alleged kiss print), plus the example offered here, are the only examples known to us.
With 2006 P.S.E. certificate
10c Brown (161). Block of four with selvage at right, original gum, rich color, choice centering, few perf separations, bottom stamps with horizontal creaseEXTREMELY FINE APPEARING BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 1873 10-CENT CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE COMPANY ISSUE.
With 1989 P.F. certificate
5c Blue (179). Block of six, original gum, two stamps at bottom right Mint N.H., others lightly hinged, rich color on bright paper, bottom left stamp tiny piece out at left, otherwise Very Fine, with 1989 P.F. certificate, Scott Retail with no premium for the two Mint N.H. stamps
2c Vermilion (183). Bottom imprint and plate no. 392 block of 20, original gum, all stamps in plate block of twelve are Mint N.H., sensible adhesive reinforcement between several perfs in ungummed selvage only, six others Mint N.H. including Jumbos at bottom left, top left and top right stamps lightly hinged, brilliant color and extraordinarily fresh, second stamp from left in top row has natural translucencyVERY FINE TO EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF EIGHT RECORDED PLATE NUMBER BLOCKS OF THE 1879 2-CENT VERMILION ISSUE. A SPECTACULAR BANK NOTE ISSUE MULTIPLE.
There are seven plate blocks of Scott 183 recorded in the Chapin census, including two with plate number 392, plus the plate 391 block in Shreves Wampler sale, making a total of eight known to us. This magnificent plate block of 20 contains several Mint N.H. Jumbo stamps in the bottom row, which should be considered in valuing the multiple, although we hope a plate block collector will outbid the buyers who would break out the gems.
With 1989 P.F. certificate
6c Pink (186). Mint N.H. block of nine, rich color on fresh paper, center stamp with natural perf indentation at bottom, top center and bottom right stamps with tiny wood inclusions not noted on certificateFINE-VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED BLOCK OF THE 1879 6-CENT AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY ISSUE.
With 2002 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as hinged block of four and five hinged singles
10c Brown, With Secret Mark (188). Mint N.H., rich color and sharp proof-like impression, choice centering with wide marginsEXTREMELY FINE. A MARVELOUSLY FRESH MINT NEVER-HINGED 10-CENT 1879 AMERICAN ISSUE WITH SECRET MARK.
Unlike other values of the 1879 Issue, there are virtually no 10c stamps in Mint Never-Hinged condition. A thorough review of auction catalogues, including sales of the Caspary, Close, Sinkler, Col. Green, Lilly, Braus, Wunderlich and Klein collections, among others, produced no Mint N.H. singles and no blocks containing Mint N.H. stamps. We doubt that more than four or five Mint N.H. copies exist in total. The only comparable copy was in our sale of the Drucker collection.
With 2000 P.F. certificate. From our Sale 837 (lot 191) where it realized $29,000 hammer. Scott Retail as hinged
10c Brown, With Secret Mark (188). Original gum, lightly hinged, deep rich colorVERY FINE AND CHOICE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 10-CENT 1879 AMERICAN BANK NOTE PRINTING WITH SECRET MARK.
With 2003 P.F. certificate
15c Red Orange (189). Top imprint and plate no. 31 block of twelve, Mint N.H., superbly centered throughout, bright color and extraordinarily freshEXTREMELY FINE. WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP POSITION PLATE BLOCKS OF THE 15-CENT 1879 AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. ISSUE EXTANT. A FABULOUS CLASSIC RARITY.
Scott Retail as hinged. With 2002 P.S.E. certificate
3c Blue Green, Double Impression (207c). Clear second impression displaced both horizontally and vertically, very lightly cancelled by cork leaving double impression unobscuredFINE. ONE OF ONLY THREE EXAMPLES OF THE 1881 3-CENT RE-ENGRAVED AMERICAN BANK NOTE ISSUE WITH DOUBLE IMPRESSION KNOWN TO US. A GREAT RARITY.
The two other examples of this rarity known to us were offered in the following Siegel sales: 2003 Rarities, on cover, realized $7,500 hammer; and Sale 881, off cover with plate no. visible, realized $25,000.
With 2005 P.F. certificate. Unpriced in Scott
10c Brown (209). Bottom imprint and plate no. 548 block of twelve, Mint N.H., choice centering, deep rich color, post office freshEXTREMELY FINE. AN INCALCULABLY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF THE 10-CENT 1882 RE-ENGRAVED ISSUE. PROBABLY THE FINEST EXTANT.
With 2006 P.S.E. certificate.
4c Dark Brown (222). Pane of 100 with imprint and plate nos. 51 at top and bottom, selvage at left and natural s.e. at right, deep rich color, approximately 84 stamps Mint N.H., paper hinges in corners affect six stamps, few minor perf separations sensibly reinforced, few creases do not detractFINE-VERY FINE. A RARE COMPLETE PANE OF 100 OF THE 4-CENT 1890 ISSUE.
Scott Retail as 66 Mint N.H. singles, two hinged plate blocks and fourteen hinged singles.
5c Chocolate (223). Mint N.H. top left corner imprint and plate no. 50 block of 20, rich color, choice centeringVERY FINE. A RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 5-CENT CHOCOLATE 1890 ISSUE.
With 1989 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail lists but does not price a Mint N.H. plate block, using the same multiplier as is used for the hinged plate block (3.15) the Mint N.H. plate no. block of ten alone would catalogue $7,875.00.