2002 Rarities of the World continued...

FINE. A RARE USED PAIR OF THE ONE-CENT 1914 COMPOUND PERF 12 X 10 STAMP.

Our census of Scott 424a records eight unused singles and an unused pair, 28 used singles, six used pairs and the unique block of four (offered in our Twigg-Smith sale). Most of the other pairs have centering similar to the one offered here. It is possible that some of the other pairs have been broken.

With 1963 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as two singles (Image)

VERY FINE AND CHOICE. A SCARCE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 20-CENT PERF 10 SINGLE-LINE WATERMARKED FRANKLIN STAMP.

With 1999 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. AN EXTRAORDINARILY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED JOINT LINE PAIR OF THE 1915 2-CENT TYPE I VERTICAL COIL. AN OUTSTANDING RARITY.

Type I rotary press stamps were produced using the same master dies as had been used for flat plate printings. However, due to the curve of the plate to fit the rotary press, the impressions lacked some of the details of the flat plate printings. New dies were made with strengthened lines, resulting in the Type II stamps. After plate wear was noticed, further strengthening was necessary, resulting in the Type III stamps. Scott 449 was not produced until almost a year and a half after the Type I horizontal coil, Scott 453. Due to the unpopularity of vertical coils, this Type I stamp was in production for only a short period of time before being discontinued. The joint line pair offered here, in Mint N.H. condition and with such choice centering and color, is a major rarity. We doubt whether more than three or four exist in such condition.

With 2002 P.F. certificate (Image)

VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE 1915 2-CENT TYPE I VERTICAL COIL.

With 1999 P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE 1915 2-CENT TYPE I VERTICAL COIL.

With copy of 1998 P.F. certificate for strip of four, this being the bottom stamp. (Image)

VERY FINE AND CHOICE. THIS IS THE EARLIEST RECORDED USE OF SCOTT 449 ON A FULL COVER.

Scott Catalogue states that the earliest known use of Scott 449 is "Oct. 29, 1915 (on cover front or dated cancel), Dec. 21, 1915 (on full cover)."

With 2000 P.S.E. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM JOINT LINE PAIR. SUPERB IN EVERY RESPECT.

Most joint line pairs of this stamp are creased. The example offered here, without a crease, is a rare exception to the rule. With 2002 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail for creased (Image)

FRESH AND EXTREMELY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE VERY RARE 30-CENT PERF 10 WASHINGTON-FRANKLIN ON UNWATERMARKED PAPER.

In an article in Philatelic Opinions V published by the Philatelic Foundation, William T. Crowe, head of the Expert Committee, discusses the discovery of this rare stamp and how it might have been issued. The production of Scott 476A occurred during the period of transition from gauge-10 perfs to gauge 11. Bureau records do not list a 30c printing on unwatermarked paper that was perforated 10, but the existence of two certified panes--one bottom-right pane from Plate 6917 and one top-right pane from Plate 6911--is evidence that the combination of new unwatermarked paper and old 10-gauge perfs occurred, even if inadvertantly. Stamps from these two panes (200 total), two left sheet-margin blocks of four and a bottom plate no. 6914 single, none of which have any trace of watermark, are the only accepted examples of Scott 476A.

The position just above this one, with similar centering, realized $12,000 in our Piedmont sale in Feb. 2002. With copy of P.F. certificate (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE GEM MINT NEVER-HINGED BLOCK CONTAINING THE RARE 5-CENT IMPERFORATE ERROR. LESS THAN 50 SHEETS WERE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.

During the course of production of the normal 2c plate no. 7942, three positions were noted to be defective. The plate was sent back to the siderographer, who burnished out the three positions and mistakenly re-entered them using the transfer roll for the 5c stamp. The error passed unnoticed and the sheets were issued to the public both Perf 10, Imperforate and Perf 11 (Scott 467, 485 and 505). The imperforate is by far the rarest of the three.

With 2002 P.S.E. certificate (Image)