United States Stamps continued...

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. ONE OF THE FEW EXISTING PERFORATED TYPE Ia STAMPS IN SOUND CONDITION WITH THE PERFORATIONS CLEAR OF THE DESIGN.

Type Ia stamps were produced from 18 of the 20 bottom-row positions on Plate 4. After perforations were introduced in mid-1857, sheets on hand printed from Plates 1 Late and 2 were fed through the new perforating machine, but the narrow spaces between stamps made perforating difficult to accomplish without cutting into the designs. Plate 4 was produced in early 1857 when the introduction of perforations was anticipated, thus, it was entered from a new six-relief transfer roll, and the spaces between stamps were enlarged to allow for perforations. Some Plate 4 sheets were issued in imperforate form (April to June 1857), while the greater portion was issued perforated beginning in July 1857, along with perforated sheets from Plates 1L and 2.

Plate 4's most distinctive feature is that the top row (Pos. 1-10L and 1-10R) was entered with the designs complete at top (Type II) and the bottom row (Pos. 91-100L and 91-100R) was entered with designs complete or nearly complete at bottom (Types Ia and Ic). Although the plate layout provided sufficient space for perforations, the height of the top-row and bottom-row designs was larger than others in the sheet, which resulted in perforations cutting into either the top or bottom rows, depending on which direction the sheet was fed into the perforator. Type Ia and Ic stamps from the bottom row are almost always cut into at bottom, an unfortunate situation for collectors because the bottom part of the design is what makes Type Ia and Ic stamps desirable.

The exceptions to the normal cut-into condition of top-row and bottom-row Plate 4 stamps are those with wide-spaced perforations. It has been assumed for years that the pins of the bottom row of the perforator were reset to create more space, but some students of the 1851-57 Issue have begun to reexamine this aspect of Plate 4 production to seek alternative explanations for wide-spaced perforations. Whatever the cause, wide-spaced stamps are extremely rare and highly desirable, because they exhibit all of the features that define their respective types. The Zoellner copy, with wide spacing, realized $50,000 hammer in 1998.

Ashbrook states: "I consider perforated Type IA stamps that are not touched by perforations as the rarest stamps in the 1857 perforated issue." (Neinken book, p. 279). The Scott Catalogue contains a footnote to the basic price quotes: "Copies of this stamp exist with perforations not touching the design at any point. Such copies command very high prices." The stamp offered here is not a wide-spacing Type Ia stamp, which makes the fact that the perforations are clear of the design even more remarkable.

Ex Ishikawa and Morris. With 1993 P.F. certificate (Image)

FINE TO VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS USED MULTIPLE CONTAINING A COMBINATION OF TYPES III, IIIa AND Ic IS UNIQUE.

Positions 81-82R4 are the only positions on the sheet which yield a horizontal pair of Type Ic. The pair is listed in Scott under 19b, but is unpriced. Scott also lists but does not price a block of four of Types III-IIIa.

Illustrated in the Neinken book on page 283. Scott Retail as two singles of Scott 19b and two combination pairs of III-IIIa is $7,700.00 (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. A SCARCE WELL-CENTERED EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT PERFORATED TYPE III STAMP.

Due to the narrow vertical spacing on this plate, stamps are most typically found with the perforations impinging on some portion of the design. The example offered here, is centered so that the type characteristics are clearly visible.

With 1988 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF THE PERFORATED ONE-CENT TYPE IV RECUT. RARELY FOUND WITH SUCH CENTERING AND MARGINS.

With 1990 P.F. certificate for pair, this being the right stamp (Image)

VERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE PAIR. THE ONE-CENT PERFORATED TYPE IV IS RARELY FOUND IN MULTIPLES WITH SUCH CHOICE CENTERING.

As this pair shows, Plate 1 was not designed to accommodate the large 1c design, let alone perforation holes between the stamps. Sheets from Plate 1 Early were only issued imperforate. A small number of sheets from Plate 1 Late (Type IV recut) were on hand in 1857 when perforations were introduced. Well-centered perforated stamps from Plate 1 Late (Type IV recut) are rare, and multiples are extremely rare. (Image)