Stamps
See also : World stamps US stamps British Royals Central and South Americas Northern Europe
Chronology : 1840-1849 1850-1859 1918
Chronology : 1840-1849 1850-1859 1918
1847 The Bordeaux Cover
1993 SOLD for CHF 6.1M including premium by David Feldman (worth US $ 4.1M at that time)
narrated in 2020
In 1847 Mauritius is the seventh territory to issue pre-paid postage stamps. Two denominations are prepared. The first impression is made with a unique copper plate on which a single figure of each value has been engraved. The inks are different, orange for the penny and dark blue for the 2 pence and each copy is individually printed. The plaque was sold for € 1.23M including premium by David Feldman on December 1, 2016.
The issue of 500 stamps of each denomination is ready just in time to be used for an invitation to a costume ball at Government House. The postal rate is 1 penny for a delivery in Port Louis and 2 pence for the rest of the island.
The stamps are inscribed POST OFFICE on the left edge, which corresponds to the marks previously used by this post, and also to the first US stamps issued in the same year. This first release is unique. A few months later, new plaques are prepared for multiple printing. The two editions differ in the text, which becomes POST PAID.
The POST OFFICE version of the Mauritius stamps is extremely rare. Four lots were sold by David Feldman on November 3, 1993 : two unused stamps and two covers.
The only known unused copy of the 1 penny was sold for CHF 1.4M before fees. One of the four unused copies of the 2 pence was sold for CHF 1.5M before fees. One of the four surviving covers mailed for the invitation to the ball was sold for CHF 1.4M before fees.
A cover sent from Port Louis to a wine merchant in Bordeaux has been stamped at the overseas rate and includes a copy of each denomination. Discovered in 1902 by a schoolboy who was consulting the recipient's archives, it is kept with its letter. It was sold for CHF 5M before fees, CHF 6.1M including premium.
The images are shared by Wikimedia.
The issue of 500 stamps of each denomination is ready just in time to be used for an invitation to a costume ball at Government House. The postal rate is 1 penny for a delivery in Port Louis and 2 pence for the rest of the island.
The stamps are inscribed POST OFFICE on the left edge, which corresponds to the marks previously used by this post, and also to the first US stamps issued in the same year. This first release is unique. A few months later, new plaques are prepared for multiple printing. The two editions differ in the text, which becomes POST PAID.
The POST OFFICE version of the Mauritius stamps is extremely rare. Four lots were sold by David Feldman on November 3, 1993 : two unused stamps and two covers.
The only known unused copy of the 1 penny was sold for CHF 1.4M before fees. One of the four unused copies of the 2 pence was sold for CHF 1.5M before fees. One of the four surviving covers mailed for the invitation to the ball was sold for CHF 1.4M before fees.
A cover sent from Port Louis to a wine merchant in Bordeaux has been stamped at the overseas rate and includes a copy of each denomination. Discovered in 1902 by a schoolboy who was consulting the recipient's archives, it is kept with its letter. It was sold for CHF 5M before fees, CHF 6.1M including premium.
The images are shared by Wikimedia.
1847 The Post Office in Mauritius
2016 SOLD for € 1.23M including premium
The stamp, circulated by the British administration in 1840, was gradually adopted by other countries. In 1847 Mauritius was the first British colony to release this method of payment for the conveyance of the postage.
Two denominations are issued : 1 penny and 2 pence. The printing plate is made in intaglio by a local engraver in imitation of the stamps then applicable in Great Britain with the profile of Queen Victoria.
They are extremely rare : the printing was stopped in the following year when the administration decided to put the wording Post Paid instead of Post Office on the left edge. 500 'Post Office' stamps of each value had been edited. A cover that circulated with each of the two stamps was sold for CHF 6.2M including premium by David Feldman in 1993.
The printing plate surfaced in 1912. It is unique in its kind. A single example of each denomination appears on this small piece of copper 81 x 61 mm. Because of this rudimentary configuration, the stamps had to be printed individually.
Considered as an outstanding philatelic treasure, the plate enters around 1930 in the collection of Maurice Burrus but will not appear in his succession. The mystery is lifted in 2013 when the family finds it by chance in the inventory of a further deceased estate : a niece of the collector had kept it in his memory inside a small cover without ever imagining its inestimable value as a witness of the pioneering era of the postage stamp.
The plate is estimated in excess of € 2M for sale on December 1 in Geneva by David Feldman, lot 1. Here is the link to the website of the auction house. The image below is taken from the press kit. Please watch the video shared by David Feldman explaining in details this rediscovery.
Two denominations are issued : 1 penny and 2 pence. The printing plate is made in intaglio by a local engraver in imitation of the stamps then applicable in Great Britain with the profile of Queen Victoria.
They are extremely rare : the printing was stopped in the following year when the administration decided to put the wording Post Paid instead of Post Office on the left edge. 500 'Post Office' stamps of each value had been edited. A cover that circulated with each of the two stamps was sold for CHF 6.2M including premium by David Feldman in 1993.
The printing plate surfaced in 1912. It is unique in its kind. A single example of each denomination appears on this small piece of copper 81 x 61 mm. Because of this rudimentary configuration, the stamps had to be printed individually.
Considered as an outstanding philatelic treasure, the plate enters around 1930 in the collection of Maurice Burrus but will not appear in his succession. The mystery is lifted in 2013 when the family finds it by chance in the inventory of a further deceased estate : a niece of the collector had kept it in his memory inside a small cover without ever imagining its inestimable value as a witness of the pioneering era of the postage stamp.
The plate is estimated in excess of € 2M for sale on December 1 in Geneva by David Feldman, lot 1. Here is the link to the website of the auction house. The image below is taken from the press kit. Please watch the video shared by David Feldman explaining in details this rediscovery.
1852 The Cover from Hawaii
2013 SOLD 2.25 M$ including premium
The invention of the stamp greatly facilitated the communication with the most remote regions. In Hawaii, the missionaries wished to send mails to their families. In 1851, the government of the archipelago issued its first stamps.
Three values are released, corresponding to the three postage rates: 2 cents for a newspaper, 5 cents for a letter to the Western United States and 13 cents to the East. Printed on thin paper, these fragile stamps poorly survived.
These 13 cents enabled to pay 5 cents for the sending country, 2 cents to the boat and 6 cents to the destination country. They were paid to the post office of Hawaii which ensured the sharing of the fee.
In 1905, somewhere in the United States, a worker cleans a factory disused for about 35 years. The previous owners had not checked the incineration of their archives. The worker discovered in a stove, almost intact, one of the wonders of the history of philately: the Dawson cover.
Shipped from Hawaii to New York on October 4, 1852, the Dawson cover did not use the stamp of 13 cents but a combination from the two involved countries : 2 cents and 5 cents of Hawaii and two stamps of 3 cents each of the United States. This is the only known copy with this mixed postage.
It was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Robert A. Siegel in New York in November 1995. It is now estimated $ 2M, for sale by the same auction house on June 25.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold for $ 1.95M before fees, this prestigious piece of philately remained in the region of its lower estimate.
The file is shared by Wikimedia :
Three values are released, corresponding to the three postage rates: 2 cents for a newspaper, 5 cents for a letter to the Western United States and 13 cents to the East. Printed on thin paper, these fragile stamps poorly survived.
These 13 cents enabled to pay 5 cents for the sending country, 2 cents to the boat and 6 cents to the destination country. They were paid to the post office of Hawaii which ensured the sharing of the fee.
In 1905, somewhere in the United States, a worker cleans a factory disused for about 35 years. The previous owners had not checked the incineration of their archives. The worker discovered in a stove, almost intact, one of the wonders of the history of philately: the Dawson cover.
Shipped from Hawaii to New York on October 4, 1852, the Dawson cover did not use the stamp of 13 cents but a combination from the two involved countries : 2 cents and 5 cents of Hawaii and two stamps of 3 cents each of the United States. This is the only known copy with this mixed postage.
It was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Robert A. Siegel in New York in November 1995. It is now estimated $ 2M, for sale by the same auction house on June 25.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold for $ 1.95M before fees, this prestigious piece of philately remained in the region of its lower estimate.
The file is shared by Wikimedia :
1856 The Rudimentary Stamps of British Guiana
2014 SOLD 9.5 M$ including premium
The DuPont collection of early stamps from British Guiana is dispersed in two auctions : 131 lots by David Feldman in Geneva on June 27 and a single lot by Sotheby's in New York on June 17.
The invention of the postage stamp in England in 1840 is a revolution in communications. Hitherto limited to shipment operations, the Post Office of British Guiana is one of the first in South America to use stamps and to develop a local delivery, through the diligence of Edward Dalton, a colonial postmaster unwilling to wait for official authorizations.
The first stamps issued by the British Guiana in 1850 are made in black ink by woodcut printing on papers of various colors depending on the face value. The work is done by the printer of the local newspaper. They are so rudimentary that each sold stamp is authenticated by the handwritten initials of the postmaster or of one of his clerks. Their rough shape is square with or without cut corners.
These first stamps of 4, 8 and 12 cents are not rare because they have attracted the interest of collectors from the 1870s. They are identified by the nickname cottonreels. A cottonreel of 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1851 is estimated € 120K in the Feldman sale.
An additional cottonreel worth 2 cents was issued in 1851. This low value intended for taxing the mail inside Georgetown was very unpopular and this variety is extremely rare. A unit is estimated € 100K in the Feldman sale.
In 1852, the government takes control of operations. Stamps for British Guiana are now printed in a specialized factory in England. In September 1855, it is a disaster. British agents had misunderstood the order and printed a quantity of stamps ten times lower than needed.
Faced with the shortage, Dalton released in 1856 a new series of locally printed British Guiana stamps, with the same rudimentary process as in 1850.
The 4 cents stamp to be used for mail is printed on papers of three color variants, magenta, carmine and blue, the latter in two variants with single or double sided blue. A blue 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1856 is estimated € 150K in the Feldman sale.
The 1 cent for the postage of newspapers is a lower denomination that had no reason to be kept by users. Only one survived. In poor condition, almost indecipherable, it is magenta in the same shade as one of the 4 cent variants. Collected in 1873 by a schoolboy in the archives of his uncle, it was formally authenticated by an expert in 1891.
The 1 cent magenta British Guiana stamp is the only British variety that escapes the royal collection. It is estimated in excess of $ 10 million at Sotheby's. Sold for $ 935K including premium by Siegel on April 5, 1980, it was already at that time the most expensive stamp in the world.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
The most expensive stamp in the world was sold for $ 7.9M before fees by Sotheby's.
2
Here are now the prices before fees of the three stamps discussed above from David Feldman's sale: € 160K the 4 cents from 1850-1851, € 190K the 2 cents from 1851 and € 240K the 4 cents from 1856.
I invite you to play a video shared in 2008 on YouTube that I retrieved through the facebook page of Feldman:
The invention of the postage stamp in England in 1840 is a revolution in communications. Hitherto limited to shipment operations, the Post Office of British Guiana is one of the first in South America to use stamps and to develop a local delivery, through the diligence of Edward Dalton, a colonial postmaster unwilling to wait for official authorizations.
The first stamps issued by the British Guiana in 1850 are made in black ink by woodcut printing on papers of various colors depending on the face value. The work is done by the printer of the local newspaper. They are so rudimentary that each sold stamp is authenticated by the handwritten initials of the postmaster or of one of his clerks. Their rough shape is square with or without cut corners.
These first stamps of 4, 8 and 12 cents are not rare because they have attracted the interest of collectors from the 1870s. They are identified by the nickname cottonreels. A cottonreel of 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1851 is estimated € 120K in the Feldman sale.
An additional cottonreel worth 2 cents was issued in 1851. This low value intended for taxing the mail inside Georgetown was very unpopular and this variety is extremely rare. A unit is estimated € 100K in the Feldman sale.
In 1852, the government takes control of operations. Stamps for British Guiana are now printed in a specialized factory in England. In September 1855, it is a disaster. British agents had misunderstood the order and printed a quantity of stamps ten times lower than needed.
Faced with the shortage, Dalton released in 1856 a new series of locally printed British Guiana stamps, with the same rudimentary process as in 1850.
The 4 cents stamp to be used for mail is printed on papers of three color variants, magenta, carmine and blue, the latter in two variants with single or double sided blue. A blue 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1856 is estimated € 150K in the Feldman sale.
The 1 cent for the postage of newspapers is a lower denomination that had no reason to be kept by users. Only one survived. In poor condition, almost indecipherable, it is magenta in the same shade as one of the 4 cent variants. Collected in 1873 by a schoolboy in the archives of his uncle, it was formally authenticated by an expert in 1891.
The 1 cent magenta British Guiana stamp is the only British variety that escapes the royal collection. It is estimated in excess of $ 10 million at Sotheby's. Sold for $ 935K including premium by Siegel on April 5, 1980, it was already at that time the most expensive stamp in the world.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
The most expensive stamp in the world was sold for $ 7.9M before fees by Sotheby's.
2
Here are now the prices before fees of the three stamps discussed above from David Feldman's sale: € 160K the 4 cents from 1850-1851, € 190K the 2 cents from 1851 and € 240K the 4 cents from 1856.
I invite you to play a video shared in 2008 on YouTube that I retrieved through the facebook page of Feldman:
1857 The Only 3-Skilling Yellow
1996 SOLD for CHF 2.9M including premium by David Feldman
narrated in 2010 before a private auction sale (see below)
Children love stamps, as it is well known. In 1885, a German boy gets his grandmother's permission to take off stamps from old covers to make money. The dealer to whom he presented his booty is amazed: a 3 Skilling Swedish stamp has a wrong color!
No other copy will never be found, making this stamp the rarest and most desired piece on the philately market. Its story is told on the Treskilling Yellow page of Wikipedia, where it is illustrated. It was canceled in 1857.
It is a mistake and not a fake. This sample has all the characteristics of an 8 Skilling stamp, yellow, unless it bears the engraving of the 3 Skilling, which is green for all other known copies. The hypothesis to keep is that one of 100 clichés of a printing block of 8 Skilling was damaged, and the operator has inadvertently changed it by a 3 Skilling cliché. Nobody went aware of the error, and there is no way of knowing how many wrong copies were produced.
It was sold in 1996 2.9 MCHF including premium by David Feldman.
A scoop of the Telegraph has just announced its forthcoming sale without giving details, and it took me a few navigation tips to find the source: the 3 Skilling Yellow comes on May 22 in Geneva at private auction by David Feldman, with a specific catalog. You are now part of the happy few: here is the link to the catalog shared by the auction house.
David Feldman has done a quick calculation. Reduced to its weight, this small artefact of 26.75 milligrams is valued $ 70 billion per kilogram! Who says better?
POST SALE COMMENT
The Treskilling was sold for over $ 2.3 million to a group of buyers who required that the exact amount was not disclosed . I remind that it was a private auction.
Shared by Wikimedia :
No other copy will never be found, making this stamp the rarest and most desired piece on the philately market. Its story is told on the Treskilling Yellow page of Wikipedia, where it is illustrated. It was canceled in 1857.
It is a mistake and not a fake. This sample has all the characteristics of an 8 Skilling stamp, yellow, unless it bears the engraving of the 3 Skilling, which is green for all other known copies. The hypothesis to keep is that one of 100 clichés of a printing block of 8 Skilling was damaged, and the operator has inadvertently changed it by a 3 Skilling cliché. Nobody went aware of the error, and there is no way of knowing how many wrong copies were produced.
It was sold in 1996 2.9 MCHF including premium by David Feldman.
A scoop of the Telegraph has just announced its forthcoming sale without giving details, and it took me a few navigation tips to find the source: the 3 Skilling Yellow comes on May 22 in Geneva at private auction by David Feldman, with a specific catalog. You are now part of the happy few: here is the link to the catalog shared by the auction house.
David Feldman has done a quick calculation. Reduced to its weight, this small artefact of 26.75 milligrams is valued $ 70 billion per kilogram! Who says better?
POST SALE COMMENT
The Treskilling was sold for over $ 2.3 million to a group of buyers who required that the exact amount was not disclosed . I remind that it was a private auction.
Shared by Wikimedia :
1857 Jefferson in Red
2009 SOLD for $ 805K including premium by Robert A. Siegel
2018 SOLD for $ 470K including premium
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
At the first issue of postage stamps by the United States in 1847, the base rate is 5 cents. Two denominations are created : 5 cents in red brown with the portrait of Franklin and 10 cents in black with Washington. The postal success is so great that the rates go down as early as 1851. The old stamps are removed from circulation and replaced by 1 cent in blue and 3 cents in orange brown.
The withdrawal of the 5 cents and 10 cents was a bad decision. These values can be used to top-up a heavier shipment or a foreign destination. They are recreated in 1856 with new portraits. The 10 cents becomes green. The new Jefferson 5 cents keeps the red brown color of the old Franklin emission.
600,000 Jefferson are printed in 1856, probably in a single run as their color is very homogeneous. This non-perforated variant is very rare. In terms of unused blocks, only two blocks of four survived. One of them was deposited in a university with an inalienable clause. The other remains the only unused block in private hands. It is estimated $ 200K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 35. It is graduated Very Fine and has kept its original gum.
Perforations appear and become mandatory in 1857. The 5 cents remains a rarely used value and the remaining large stocks of red brown sheets from the previous year are punched at this stage. A new printing becomes necessary in 1858. The preparation of the colors is slightly changed, with the vast majority of the sheets in Indian red and some in Brick red.
The rarity of the brick red Jefferson suggests that it had not been the subject of a separate run. It cannot be considered as an error but rather as an anomaly in the mixture of inks, early detected and corrected. The brick red sheets buried within the stacks appeared in circulation from seven months onward after the Indian red.
Only one unused brick red block survived, also consisting of four stamps. Graded Extremely Fine with its original gum, it was sold for $ 805K including premium by Siegel on January 27, 2009 over an estimate of $ 375K. It is estimated $ 400K for sale on October 3 by Siegel, lot 47.
Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection in the website of the auction house.
2018 RESULTS including premium :
Unperforated : $ 307K
Perforated : $ 470K
At the first issue of postage stamps by the United States in 1847, the base rate is 5 cents. Two denominations are created : 5 cents in red brown with the portrait of Franklin and 10 cents in black with Washington. The postal success is so great that the rates go down as early as 1851. The old stamps are removed from circulation and replaced by 1 cent in blue and 3 cents in orange brown.
The withdrawal of the 5 cents and 10 cents was a bad decision. These values can be used to top-up a heavier shipment or a foreign destination. They are recreated in 1856 with new portraits. The 10 cents becomes green. The new Jefferson 5 cents keeps the red brown color of the old Franklin emission.
600,000 Jefferson are printed in 1856, probably in a single run as their color is very homogeneous. This non-perforated variant is very rare. In terms of unused blocks, only two blocks of four survived. One of them was deposited in a university with an inalienable clause. The other remains the only unused block in private hands. It is estimated $ 200K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 35. It is graduated Very Fine and has kept its original gum.
Perforations appear and become mandatory in 1857. The 5 cents remains a rarely used value and the remaining large stocks of red brown sheets from the previous year are punched at this stage. A new printing becomes necessary in 1858. The preparation of the colors is slightly changed, with the vast majority of the sheets in Indian red and some in Brick red.
The rarity of the brick red Jefferson suggests that it had not been the subject of a separate run. It cannot be considered as an error but rather as an anomaly in the mixture of inks, early detected and corrected. The brick red sheets buried within the stacks appeared in circulation from seven months onward after the Indian red.
Only one unused brick red block survived, also consisting of four stamps. Graded Extremely Fine with its original gum, it was sold for $ 805K including premium by Siegel on January 27, 2009 over an estimate of $ 375K. It is estimated $ 400K for sale on October 3 by Siegel, lot 47.
Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection in the website of the auction house.
2018 RESULTS including premium :
Unperforated : $ 307K
Perforated : $ 470K
1864 The Olive-Bistre Blunder of Hong Kong
2011 SOLD 6.4 MHK$ including premium
2016 UNSOLD
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
The only known unused multiple of the 96c olive-bistre stamp is considered as the most important item of Hong Kong philately. It was sold for HK$ 5.5M before fees by Spink on January 23, 2011. It is for sale by the same auction house in Hong Kong on January 17. Its estimate of HK$ 6.5M is indicated in the catalog, lot 2413.
Here are the links to the pre sale press releases, forwarded by The Philatelic Database before the 2011 sale and shared by Spink before the 2016 sale.
I introduced this lot as follows before the 2011 sale :
The first set of stamps for Hong Kong included seven denominations from 2 to 96 cents. It was issued in 1862.
The highest value was not widely used, and they waited until 1864 before reprinting. When the stock from the previous batch was depleted, it was discovered that the new batch of 52 sheets of 240 stamps had a nice olive-bistre color instead of the brownish gray that was required.
It was a mistake made by the subcontractor, linked to the fact that the wrong ink was part of the original color test.
The administration took the pragmatic decision to release it as is for delivery to the users during the few months which were needed to prepare a compliant printing.
The rarity of the Hong Kong 96c olive-bistre stamp is so due altogether to its high denomination and to the hurry to supersede it with stamps in the original color.
A single unused multiple is known. It is a block of four in great condition, with a very wide right margin. It has retained its original gum and its color is still very fresh.
The only known unused multiple of the 96c olive-bistre stamp is considered as the most important item of Hong Kong philately. It was sold for HK$ 5.5M before fees by Spink on January 23, 2011. It is for sale by the same auction house in Hong Kong on January 17. Its estimate of HK$ 6.5M is indicated in the catalog, lot 2413.
Here are the links to the pre sale press releases, forwarded by The Philatelic Database before the 2011 sale and shared by Spink before the 2016 sale.
I introduced this lot as follows before the 2011 sale :
The first set of stamps for Hong Kong included seven denominations from 2 to 96 cents. It was issued in 1862.
The highest value was not widely used, and they waited until 1864 before reprinting. When the stock from the previous batch was depleted, it was discovered that the new batch of 52 sheets of 240 stamps had a nice olive-bistre color instead of the brownish gray that was required.
It was a mistake made by the subcontractor, linked to the fact that the wrong ink was part of the original color test.
The administration took the pragmatic decision to release it as is for delivery to the users during the few months which were needed to prepare a compliant printing.
The rarity of the Hong Kong 96c olive-bistre stamp is so due altogether to its high denomination and to the hurry to supersede it with stamps in the original color.
A single unused multiple is known. It is a block of four in great condition, with a very wide right margin. It has retained its original gum and its color is still very fresh.
"The most important item of Hong Kong philately" in @SpinkandSon auction: https://t.co/wORQGDtMMv #HongKong #stamps pic.twitter.com/AbGdUA8pJQ
— JustCollecting (@just_collecting) January 4, 20161869 The Two-Colored Errors
2013 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
In 1869, the United States renew their postage stamps. Ten values are released, from 1c to 90c, but only three of them maintain the tradition of featuring the heads of the great statesmen of the past. The other seven display scenes and symbols of American patriotism.
Another innovation is technical. Four of these values are printed in two colors, the first step towards the modern polychromatic stamp: 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c Lincoln.
The printing is done in two stages. When the sheet is presented in reverse to its second pass, the two elements of the image are one another inverted. This error of image position did not prevent the stamps to be used.
The controls were not strict enough. Similar errors of the 1901 Pan American issue were certainly better filtered, and only a single sheet escaped the controls of the 1918 Air Post.
Coming back to the Pictorial Issue of 1869. Survivors of uncirculated inverts are very rare: their total for the three usual values is estimated at 14 units. On February 9, 2008, Philip Weiss sold for $ 1.27 million including premium one of the four 24c, sound but unevenly centered and without gum.
On October 9 in New York, Robert A. Siegel sells the best known inverted example of the two other usual values. Each one is the only specimen in its category to have retained its original gum. The 15c stamp, whose colors are very fresh, is estimated $ 1.25 M. The 30c, perfectly centered, is estimated $ 1M.
The Grant administration, which has made this release, had reluctantly inherited this project from Johnson and did nothing to promote it to the users. After a few months, the traditional figuration returned to the US stamp, explaining the scarcity of the Pictorial issue and of its errors.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very rare and beautiful in their class, both stamps remained however below the expected price. Before fees, the 15c stamp was sold for $ 800K and the 30c stamp for $ 600K. The auction house charges a buyer's premium of 15%.
Another innovation is technical. Four of these values are printed in two colors, the first step towards the modern polychromatic stamp: 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c Lincoln.
The printing is done in two stages. When the sheet is presented in reverse to its second pass, the two elements of the image are one another inverted. This error of image position did not prevent the stamps to be used.
The controls were not strict enough. Similar errors of the 1901 Pan American issue were certainly better filtered, and only a single sheet escaped the controls of the 1918 Air Post.
Coming back to the Pictorial Issue of 1869. Survivors of uncirculated inverts are very rare: their total for the three usual values is estimated at 14 units. On February 9, 2008, Philip Weiss sold for $ 1.27 million including premium one of the four 24c, sound but unevenly centered and without gum.
On October 9 in New York, Robert A. Siegel sells the best known inverted example of the two other usual values. Each one is the only specimen in its category to have retained its original gum. The 15c stamp, whose colors are very fresh, is estimated $ 1.25 M. The 30c, perfectly centered, is estimated $ 1M.
The Grant administration, which has made this release, had reluctantly inherited this project from Johnson and did nothing to promote it to the users. After a few months, the traditional figuration returned to the US stamp, explaining the scarcity of the Pictorial issue and of its errors.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very rare and beautiful in their class, both stamps remained however below the expected price. Before fees, the 15c stamp was sold for $ 800K and the 30c stamp for $ 600K. The auction house charges a buyer's premium of 15%.
1901 Two Invert Blocks
2009 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
I have already discussed in this group the Inverted Jenny, this single sheet of American 24 cent stamps showing an aircraft whose image had been reversed by mistake from the text in 1918.
I discussed also about blocks, these artefacts which are especially popular with philatelists. Interviewed by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, the collector Alan Whitman explains why: Once separated, a block is lost forever for philatelists, who are therefore proud to contribute to their preservation.
Two prestigious blocks of four stamps with inverted centers are coming in the second sale of the Whitman collection, organized by Siegel in New York on April 14 and 15: a 2-cent showing a steam train and a 4-cent showing a mailcoach. Both stamps are part of the Pan American series of 1901.
Source for the above: The Siegel Despatch, Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.
Wikipedia knows this inverted variant of 1901, and assesses the value of a single stamp between 30 and 50 K $. Of course, the value of the two blocks described above will be much higher.
It is difficult to decide whether it is really an error or an unauthorized test conducted by a manager of the United States Post Office Department.
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for these two blocks reaching top results. At this price level, it is the buyer who decides what is the most outstanding object. Ratings gave a slight advantage to the 4c, but the result is inverted (!):
$ 800 K for the block of 2c; $ 325 K for the block of 4c.
These prices are before fees.
I discussed also about blocks, these artefacts which are especially popular with philatelists. Interviewed by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, the collector Alan Whitman explains why: Once separated, a block is lost forever for philatelists, who are therefore proud to contribute to their preservation.
Two prestigious blocks of four stamps with inverted centers are coming in the second sale of the Whitman collection, organized by Siegel in New York on April 14 and 15: a 2-cent showing a steam train and a 4-cent showing a mailcoach. Both stamps are part of the Pan American series of 1901.
Source for the above: The Siegel Despatch, Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.
Wikipedia knows this inverted variant of 1901, and assesses the value of a single stamp between 30 and 50 K $. Of course, the value of the two blocks described above will be much higher.
It is difficult to decide whether it is really an error or an unauthorized test conducted by a manager of the United States Post Office Department.
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for these two blocks reaching top results. At this price level, it is the buyer who decides what is the most outstanding object. Ratings gave a slight advantage to the 4c, but the result is inverted (!):
$ 800 K for the block of 2c; $ 325 K for the block of 4c.
These prices are before fees.
1918 Block of four Inverted Jenny US error stamp
2005 SOLD for $ 2.97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel
Shared by Wikimedia :
1918 The Blocks of Colonel Green
2019 SOLD for $ 1.45M before fees
The 24-cent Air Mail stamp is available on May 14, 1918. In the morning, the administration is informed that a full sheet with the upside-down plane has been sold to a customer in the post office of Washington DC.
Two-color editions are conducive to this type of error. The discoverer, William T. Robey, had rushed at the opening of the post office while one of his friends was doing the same in Philadelphia. Warned after the transaction, the employee had not been in position to prevent it.
In the afternoon of the same day, the sale to the public is suspended for two hours in Philadelphia, New York and Washington for an inspection of the stock and the scrap of the defective sheets.
The reaction of the administration had been extremely rapid. On May 21, when the dealer Eugene Klein buys for $ 15,000 from Robey this Inverted Jenny sheet paid $ 24 six days earlier, it already appears that the additional checks have been effective and that this example will remain unique.
A few hours later, Klein sells the complete sheet to the rich and eccentric collector Colonel Green. The centering quality of the stamps within the perforations is not homogeneous and the right edge has no margin. Green will only accept the best positions for his collection and entrusts the sale of the rest to Klein. It is at this point that Klein numbers each stamp on the reverse of the sheet to record the original position of each element.
In the 1940s the auctions of the Green deceased estate reveal his preferences : a block of eight, three blocks of four, a vertical block of two and a few single stamps. Some stamps in bad condition appear in the same sales : these are the unsold stamps which had been returned at some point by Klein to Green.
The block of eight consisted of positions 85-88 and 95-98 with the plate number printed in the bottom margin below the 97. Its condition was uneven. After the Green sale, the block was separated into a very fine block of four, retaining the inscribed bottom margin, plus four single stamps. This block of four with a hinge trace was sold for $ 2.97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
On September 27 in New York, Spink sells as Lot 1 one of the blocks of four from Green's selection, consisting of the central positions 45, 46, 55 and 56 of the original sheet. This block is in very fine condition with a small disturbing to the original gum which is common in the Green collection. The range of estimates, $ 2M to $ 3M, is indicated in the press release of August 23.
In the same series of auctions, lot 101 offers the position 39. This rare example of a single Inverted Jenny from the selection of Green had certainly been retained by him for its perfect centering. It is in very fine condition with a tiny hinging trace on its original gum.
Here is the link to the website of the auction house.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES :
Block of four SOLD for $ 1.45M
Position 39 SOLD for $ 425K
Two-color editions are conducive to this type of error. The discoverer, William T. Robey, had rushed at the opening of the post office while one of his friends was doing the same in Philadelphia. Warned after the transaction, the employee had not been in position to prevent it.
In the afternoon of the same day, the sale to the public is suspended for two hours in Philadelphia, New York and Washington for an inspection of the stock and the scrap of the defective sheets.
The reaction of the administration had been extremely rapid. On May 21, when the dealer Eugene Klein buys for $ 15,000 from Robey this Inverted Jenny sheet paid $ 24 six days earlier, it already appears that the additional checks have been effective and that this example will remain unique.
A few hours later, Klein sells the complete sheet to the rich and eccentric collector Colonel Green. The centering quality of the stamps within the perforations is not homogeneous and the right edge has no margin. Green will only accept the best positions for his collection and entrusts the sale of the rest to Klein. It is at this point that Klein numbers each stamp on the reverse of the sheet to record the original position of each element.
In the 1940s the auctions of the Green deceased estate reveal his preferences : a block of eight, three blocks of four, a vertical block of two and a few single stamps. Some stamps in bad condition appear in the same sales : these are the unsold stamps which had been returned at some point by Klein to Green.
The block of eight consisted of positions 85-88 and 95-98 with the plate number printed in the bottom margin below the 97. Its condition was uneven. After the Green sale, the block was separated into a very fine block of four, retaining the inscribed bottom margin, plus four single stamps. This block of four with a hinge trace was sold for $ 2.97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
On September 27 in New York, Spink sells as Lot 1 one of the blocks of four from Green's selection, consisting of the central positions 45, 46, 55 and 56 of the original sheet. This block is in very fine condition with a small disturbing to the original gum which is common in the Green collection. The range of estimates, $ 2M to $ 3M, is indicated in the press release of August 23.
In the same series of auctions, lot 101 offers the position 39. This rare example of a single Inverted Jenny from the selection of Green had certainly been retained by him for its perfect centering. It is in very fine condition with a tiny hinging trace on its original gum.
Here is the link to the website of the auction house.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES :
Block of four SOLD for $ 1.45M
Position 39 SOLD for $ 425K
1918 Jenny in a Bank Vault
2018 SOLD for $ 1.6M including premium
The existence of the Inverted Jenny sheet, which will remain unique, is revealed by the New York Times on May 21, 1918, a few days after the release of this two-colored 24 cents stamp designed for the US Air Post. Since then the fate of its one hundred positions has been passionately followed by all lovers of philatelic errors. Before breaking the sheet, the dealer who had bought it from the discoverer had taken care to serialize each stamp on the back.
Until recently, there were two stamps that had never been located after the separation. Position 79, found in a collection with some minor flaws including the mark of a paper clip, was sold for $ 300K including premium by Leslie Hindman on February 15, 2017.
The mapping of the original separation is now complete. The last missing position, 49, surfaced in a bank vault. From the region of the sheet that displayed the best centering, this stamp had been hoarded as soon as it was purchased.
Found by a descendant of the original investor, 49 had never been handled during these one hundred years of storage away from light. It has very fresh colors and never had a hinge. It is the best specimen with an intact gum, graded Mint Never Hinged Extremely Fine 90 by the Philatelic Foundation. It is estimated $ 850K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on November 15, lot 644.
Before the discovery of this time capsule, the best Never Hinged were the position 77 graded VF-XF 85, sold for $ 575K including premium by Spink on May 21, 2014 and the position 68 graded VF 80 sold for the same price, $ 575K including premium, by Siegel on October 9, 2013.
The surfacing of 49 did not overcome the best specimen from that sheet, 58, graded 95 Between Extremely Fine and Mint - Previously Hinged, which was sold for $ 1.35M including premium by Siegel on May 31, 2016.
It should be noted that all of these best specimens along with the 87-88-97-98 block that was sold for $ 2.97M including premium by Siegel on October 19, 2005, come from the six lower rows and the four right columns of the original sheet.
Until recently, there were two stamps that had never been located after the separation. Position 79, found in a collection with some minor flaws including the mark of a paper clip, was sold for $ 300K including premium by Leslie Hindman on February 15, 2017.
The mapping of the original separation is now complete. The last missing position, 49, surfaced in a bank vault. From the region of the sheet that displayed the best centering, this stamp had been hoarded as soon as it was purchased.
Found by a descendant of the original investor, 49 had never been handled during these one hundred years of storage away from light. It has very fresh colors and never had a hinge. It is the best specimen with an intact gum, graded Mint Never Hinged Extremely Fine 90 by the Philatelic Foundation. It is estimated $ 850K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on November 15, lot 644.
Before the discovery of this time capsule, the best Never Hinged were the position 77 graded VF-XF 85, sold for $ 575K including premium by Spink on May 21, 2014 and the position 68 graded VF 80 sold for the same price, $ 575K including premium, by Siegel on October 9, 2013.
The surfacing of 49 did not overcome the best specimen from that sheet, 58, graded 95 Between Extremely Fine and Mint - Previously Hinged, which was sold for $ 1.35M including premium by Siegel on May 31, 2016.
It should be noted that all of these best specimens along with the 87-88-97-98 block that was sold for $ 2.97M including premium by Siegel on October 19, 2005, come from the six lower rows and the four right columns of the original sheet.
A superb example of the classic 1918 "inverted Jenny" error brought nearly $1.6 million at a recent auction, setting a new record https://t.co/KRszXj8aUS #philately #stamps @LinnsStampNews pic.twitter.com/kDQLEgIeeJ
— David L. Tranbarger (@dltcoins) November 17, 2018
1918 Trials and Errors of the Airmail
2016 SOLD for $ 1.35M including premium
May 15, 1918 is a historic date for the civil aviation: the first regular airmail service is inaugurated in Washington DC by President Wilson. It connects New York to Washington and return, with a change of plane in Philadelphia.
Shipping was set at 24c and the two-color stamp was available since the day before. The blue center displays the biplane model selected for this service, a Jenny, nickname for the Curtiss JN-4. The preparation of the stamp was made in a hurry. The die for printing the plane had been completed only six days earlier. The engraver added in the picture the serial number of the aircraft scheduled for the official inaugural flight, 38262.
We are still in the heroic time of aviation. The President is upset : he is wasting his precious time. 38262 takes off southward instead of going toward Philadelphia. The pilot tried to land in the countryside and bogged down in a swamp this plane carrying the first mailbag of the new service. Fortunately in the opposite way on the same day the first north-south transfer is successful.
Philatelists rush. One of them acquires for $ 24 a complete sheet of 100 stamps in which the blue print of the image is inverted by reference with its rose carmine frame. He does not know it yet : this error is unique.
The pieces from this Inverted Jenny sheet were dispersed shortly afterwards. Two of them can be rightly considered as the gems of US philately.
The block of four nicely centered stamps, positions 87-88-97-98, has been sold for $ 2,97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
The same auction house sold the best single stamp, position 58, for $ 577K including premium on June 3, 2005. It is graded by PSE XF-Sup 95 Mint OG, meaning between extremely fine and superb, not canceled, keeping its original gum (with minor hinging traces). Its centering with wide full margins contributes to its grading at 95.
Position 58 comes back at Robert A. Siegel for sale in New York on May 31, lot 275.
Shipping was set at 24c and the two-color stamp was available since the day before. The blue center displays the biplane model selected for this service, a Jenny, nickname for the Curtiss JN-4. The preparation of the stamp was made in a hurry. The die for printing the plane had been completed only six days earlier. The engraver added in the picture the serial number of the aircraft scheduled for the official inaugural flight, 38262.
We are still in the heroic time of aviation. The President is upset : he is wasting his precious time. 38262 takes off southward instead of going toward Philadelphia. The pilot tried to land in the countryside and bogged down in a swamp this plane carrying the first mailbag of the new service. Fortunately in the opposite way on the same day the first north-south transfer is successful.
Philatelists rush. One of them acquires for $ 24 a complete sheet of 100 stamps in which the blue print of the image is inverted by reference with its rose carmine frame. He does not know it yet : this error is unique.
The pieces from this Inverted Jenny sheet were dispersed shortly afterwards. Two of them can be rightly considered as the gems of US philately.
The block of four nicely centered stamps, positions 87-88-97-98, has been sold for $ 2,97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
The same auction house sold the best single stamp, position 58, for $ 577K including premium on June 3, 2005. It is graded by PSE XF-Sup 95 Mint OG, meaning between extremely fine and superb, not canceled, keeping its original gum (with minor hinging traces). Its centering with wide full margins contributes to its grading at 95.
Position 58 comes back at Robert A. Siegel for sale in New York on May 31, lot 275.
This #InvertedJenny stamp is the highest graded in the worldhttps://t.co/XYoBeb3YQG pic.twitter.com/Y4xTSUEfVX
— Paul Fraser (@PFCollectibles) May 12, 2016
