US Stamps (before the Inverted Jenny)
1846-1847 Prepayment by the Sender
2012 SOLD for $ 630K including premium by Robert A. Siegel
2018 SOLD for $ 460K including premium
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
Following the example of the British who created the postage stamp in 1840, the US Congress Act of March 3, 1845 standardized the postal rates, with a basic price at 5 cents. This decision favors payment by the sender rather than by the addressee. The modernization of the US Postage is launched : the prepayment by stamp will become mandatory in 1855.
The new rates take effect on July 1, 1845. A few days later, without waiting for any federal stamps, offices in New York and Baltimore issue provisional stamps.
The postmaster at New Haven chooses another solution, the printing of the prepayment on an envelope prepared by his office. Its administrative wording without illustration is not appealing. A complete envelope survived in good condition. The mark dated October 21 (1845) was hand stamped during the expedition.
In 1895 during an inventory in a commercial firm in Philadelphia, two pre-paid envelopes surface in flawless condition. At the top right of the envelope, its circular pre-impression in carmine red is a negative figure of the eagle and shield with the wording POST OFFICE ANNAPOLIS. The inscriptions '5' and 'PAID' have been added by hand stamps of the same color.
Several examples of the same circular mark on documents or envelopes are known, but the specimens of Philadelphia are the only examples of Annapolis pre-printed envelopes. The hypothesis of a specific request made to the postmaster by a customer who frequently used the postal service could be considered.
The date mark has been hand stamped, confirming that the shipments were made from Annapolis Md on March 20 and April 8. The unidentified year can only be 1846 or 1847.
The March 20 envelope was sold on March 28, 2012 by Siegel for $ 630K including premium over a lower estimate of $ 200K. It is estimated $ 300K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 3. Here is the link to the section devoted to the Gross collection on the auction house website.
Following the example of the British who created the postage stamp in 1840, the US Congress Act of March 3, 1845 standardized the postal rates, with a basic price at 5 cents. This decision favors payment by the sender rather than by the addressee. The modernization of the US Postage is launched : the prepayment by stamp will become mandatory in 1855.
The new rates take effect on July 1, 1845. A few days later, without waiting for any federal stamps, offices in New York and Baltimore issue provisional stamps.
The postmaster at New Haven chooses another solution, the printing of the prepayment on an envelope prepared by his office. Its administrative wording without illustration is not appealing. A complete envelope survived in good condition. The mark dated October 21 (1845) was hand stamped during the expedition.
In 1895 during an inventory in a commercial firm in Philadelphia, two pre-paid envelopes surface in flawless condition. At the top right of the envelope, its circular pre-impression in carmine red is a negative figure of the eagle and shield with the wording POST OFFICE ANNAPOLIS. The inscriptions '5' and 'PAID' have been added by hand stamps of the same color.
Several examples of the same circular mark on documents or envelopes are known, but the specimens of Philadelphia are the only examples of Annapolis pre-printed envelopes. The hypothesis of a specific request made to the postmaster by a customer who frequently used the postal service could be considered.
The date mark has been hand stamped, confirming that the shipments were made from Annapolis Md on March 20 and April 8. The unidentified year can only be 1846 or 1847.
The March 20 envelope was sold on March 28, 2012 by Siegel for $ 630K including premium over a lower estimate of $ 200K. It is estimated $ 300K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 3. Here is the link to the section devoted to the Gross collection on the auction house website.
January 1847 The Millbury Stamp
2012 SOLD for $ 460K including premium by Robert A. Siegel
2018 SOLD for $ 354K including premium
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
When US postal rates became standard in July 1845, New York emerged as the best candidate to the future production of national stamps, thanks to its experience in printing bank notes. The provisional stamps issued by the New York post office constitute a phase of pre-industrialization before the release of the first national stamps in July 1847.
During this period, ten other offices interested in the prepayment process issue provisional stamps. They are spread across nine different states and sometimes serve very small communities, for example Lockport NY which was not yet incorporated as a city at that time.
The solutions practiced by these offices are original and varied. Millbury, a small city near Worcester, Massachusetts, issues a stamp whose characteristics mimic the model from New York.
The Millbury postage stamp exists only in 5 cents with the portrait of Washington, like the New York stamp. Its back is gum plated. Its manufacture is however home made. The portrait is rough, and the stamp is woodcut printed per unit in black ink on a bluish paper.
The production of the Millbury stamp is relatively abundant compared to some other small offices. 18 copies survived, including 8 on envelopes sent from Millbury from August 21, 1846 to January 12, 1847.
The envelope of January 12 has remained in great freshness with a stamp in superb condition. The stamp has been cancelled like a modern stamp, with a red ink marked 'PAID' that overlaps its edge.
The Millbury stamp was a local prepayment facility and not a payment guarantee for the receiving office. This guarantee was provided by the date hand-stamp with the identification of the office of departure, here Milbury Ma. This fantasy spelling with a single 'l' has lost a plausible explanation. A large numeral 5 in a circle confirms the paid price.
This envelope was sold for $ 460K including premium by Siegel on March 28, 2012. It is estimated $ 300K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 6. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the sale of the Gross collection on the website of the auction house.
When US postal rates became standard in July 1845, New York emerged as the best candidate to the future production of national stamps, thanks to its experience in printing bank notes. The provisional stamps issued by the New York post office constitute a phase of pre-industrialization before the release of the first national stamps in July 1847.
During this period, ten other offices interested in the prepayment process issue provisional stamps. They are spread across nine different states and sometimes serve very small communities, for example Lockport NY which was not yet incorporated as a city at that time.
The solutions practiced by these offices are original and varied. Millbury, a small city near Worcester, Massachusetts, issues a stamp whose characteristics mimic the model from New York.
The Millbury postage stamp exists only in 5 cents with the portrait of Washington, like the New York stamp. Its back is gum plated. Its manufacture is however home made. The portrait is rough, and the stamp is woodcut printed per unit in black ink on a bluish paper.
The production of the Millbury stamp is relatively abundant compared to some other small offices. 18 copies survived, including 8 on envelopes sent from Millbury from August 21, 1846 to January 12, 1847.
The envelope of January 12 has remained in great freshness with a stamp in superb condition. The stamp has been cancelled like a modern stamp, with a red ink marked 'PAID' that overlaps its edge.
The Millbury stamp was a local prepayment facility and not a payment guarantee for the receiving office. This guarantee was provided by the date hand-stamp with the identification of the office of departure, here Milbury Ma. This fantasy spelling with a single 'l' has lost a plausible explanation. A large numeral 5 in a circle confirms the paid price.
This envelope was sold for $ 460K including premium by Siegel on March 28, 2012. It is estimated $ 300K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 6. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the sale of the Gross collection on the website of the auction house.
1847 Sixty Cents within a Bible
2018 SOLD for $ 590K including premium
The first set of US national stamps is available from July 1847 and invalidated in July 1851 due to the lowering of the postal rates. It consists of two denominations, 10 cents with the portrait of Washington and 5 cents with Franklin.
Users respond overwhelmingly to the US Postage's offer to reimburse the obsolete stamps through an exchange with the 1851 denominations of 1 cent, 3 cents and 12 cents. 10 cents was not a negligible amount for the user. Unused survivors of the original Washington are rare, even as individual stamps. A block of six and two blocks of four are known.
The block of six Washington surfaced in an auction in 1912, accompanied by a block of six of the first Franklin in perfect condition. They had kept their original gum. Both blocks were sold separately but undoubtedly came from the same estate. The Washington block, in Very Fine condition, has since then been considered as an icon of US philately.
Philatelists have tried to reconstruct its history. One of them, close to the file since the 1912 sale, unveils in 1925 the family name of the original owner. He later acquired the block and published in 1948 an information transmitted to him in a private mail by the expert Scott revealing that the 1912 seller had found these stamps between the pages of a Bible.
The Washington block of six thus becomes the Bible Block. The owner of the Bible is identified as Senator Rives who inscribed it in 1825. Rives carried out two diplomatic missions to France, from 1829 to 1833 and from 1849 to 1853.
Robert A. Siegel auction house experts find that the scissors section of the right edge of the block of six exactly matches the left profile of one of the surviving blocks of four, supporting the hypothesis of an original block of ten separated in the project of a letter to someone in France.
The story may be considered in relation with the 'retaliatory' rate that applied to some TransAtlantic mails before the application in February 1849 of the US-British postal treaty. The postage of the Rush cover, mailed from Philadelphia to Paris in 1848, is made with the same configuration of six Washington stamps. The block was indeed too expensive for the 1849 rate.
The block of four Washington was sold for $ 450K before fees by Siegel in 2012. The Bible Block of six Washington is estimated $ 500K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 14. Here is the link to the section devoted to the Gross collectionon the website of the auction house.
Users respond overwhelmingly to the US Postage's offer to reimburse the obsolete stamps through an exchange with the 1851 denominations of 1 cent, 3 cents and 12 cents. 10 cents was not a negligible amount for the user. Unused survivors of the original Washington are rare, even as individual stamps. A block of six and two blocks of four are known.
The block of six Washington surfaced in an auction in 1912, accompanied by a block of six of the first Franklin in perfect condition. They had kept their original gum. Both blocks were sold separately but undoubtedly came from the same estate. The Washington block, in Very Fine condition, has since then been considered as an icon of US philately.
Philatelists have tried to reconstruct its history. One of them, close to the file since the 1912 sale, unveils in 1925 the family name of the original owner. He later acquired the block and published in 1948 an information transmitted to him in a private mail by the expert Scott revealing that the 1912 seller had found these stamps between the pages of a Bible.
The Washington block of six thus becomes the Bible Block. The owner of the Bible is identified as Senator Rives who inscribed it in 1825. Rives carried out two diplomatic missions to France, from 1829 to 1833 and from 1849 to 1853.
Robert A. Siegel auction house experts find that the scissors section of the right edge of the block of six exactly matches the left profile of one of the surviving blocks of four, supporting the hypothesis of an original block of ten separated in the project of a letter to someone in France.
The story may be considered in relation with the 'retaliatory' rate that applied to some TransAtlantic mails before the application in February 1849 of the US-British postal treaty. The postage of the Rush cover, mailed from Philadelphia to Paris in 1848, is made with the same configuration of six Washington stamps. The block was indeed too expensive for the 1849 rate.
The block of four Washington was sold for $ 450K before fees by Siegel in 2012. The Bible Block of six Washington is estimated $ 500K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 14. Here is the link to the section devoted to the Gross collectionon the website of the auction house.
1851 Transatlantic Postage
1993 SOLD for $ 715K including premium by Christie's Robson Lowe
2018 UNSOLD
PRE 2018 SALE DISCUSSION
The invention of the postage stamp by the British in 1840 facilitated the communications between nations. In an early phase it required bilateral negotiations between countries that were gradually adopting this new practice.
The treaty between Canada and the United States comes into effect on April 6, 1851, at a rate of 6 pence or 10 cents. US stamps remain available at Canadian post offices.
On April 23 the first stamp of the Province of Canada is issued. It is worth 3 cents which is the basic rate for domestic postage. With its vignette displaying a beaver, it is the first official stamp in the world to be illustrated on a theme other than portraits of personalities and national emblems.
Reverend Ryerson, a prominent Canadian Methodist educator, is temporarily in London. Somewhere in Canada, someone manages to send him a letter. The new rules must be applied but it is a little complicated. The letter will have to be embarked in New York for crossing the Atlantic.
The local postmaster accepts the postage in the following conditions. A 3-cent beaver stamp pays the transfer to the United States border. The letter will only transit through the United States and the journey between border and New York is not considered. The departure of a British steamer of the Cunard company is scheduled for May 7 and this information is written on the envelope.
The Transatlantic rate of 24 cents is paid by five 5 cent stamps. On March 3 an act of the US Congress had announced the imminent obsolescence of this original denomination of the US Postage and consequently the sender chose to pay 1 cent more than required by the US-British postal treaty of 1848, certainly for using his stock.
The transfer to New York is fast. On May 6 the letter is embarked on a US ship. Despite the 1848 treaty, competition is fierce. The New York foreign mail office collects 22 cents in this operation, avoids paying 19 cents to the Cunard, offers a discount of 2 cents and hand stamps on the cover an overpayment of 3 cents. The receipt of the letter in London is recorded by a date hand stamp on May 19.
This piece surfaces in 1944 in an auction. Known as the Beaver Cover, it is a supreme delight in philately : very fine condition, paid with a mix of stamps from the very first US and Canadian federal issues, and bearing the marks and cancellations that reveal the significant details of its routing.
The Beaver Cover was sold for $ 715K including premium by Christie's Robson Lowe on September 28, 1993. It is estimated $ 600K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 26. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection on the website of the auction house.
The invention of the postage stamp by the British in 1840 facilitated the communications between nations. In an early phase it required bilateral negotiations between countries that were gradually adopting this new practice.
The treaty between Canada and the United States comes into effect on April 6, 1851, at a rate of 6 pence or 10 cents. US stamps remain available at Canadian post offices.
On April 23 the first stamp of the Province of Canada is issued. It is worth 3 cents which is the basic rate for domestic postage. With its vignette displaying a beaver, it is the first official stamp in the world to be illustrated on a theme other than portraits of personalities and national emblems.
Reverend Ryerson, a prominent Canadian Methodist educator, is temporarily in London. Somewhere in Canada, someone manages to send him a letter. The new rules must be applied but it is a little complicated. The letter will have to be embarked in New York for crossing the Atlantic.
The local postmaster accepts the postage in the following conditions. A 3-cent beaver stamp pays the transfer to the United States border. The letter will only transit through the United States and the journey between border and New York is not considered. The departure of a British steamer of the Cunard company is scheduled for May 7 and this information is written on the envelope.
The Transatlantic rate of 24 cents is paid by five 5 cent stamps. On March 3 an act of the US Congress had announced the imminent obsolescence of this original denomination of the US Postage and consequently the sender chose to pay 1 cent more than required by the US-British postal treaty of 1848, certainly for using his stock.
The transfer to New York is fast. On May 6 the letter is embarked on a US ship. Despite the 1848 treaty, competition is fierce. The New York foreign mail office collects 22 cents in this operation, avoids paying 19 cents to the Cunard, offers a discount of 2 cents and hand stamps on the cover an overpayment of 3 cents. The receipt of the letter in London is recorded by a date hand stamp on May 19.
This piece surfaces in 1944 in an auction. Known as the Beaver Cover, it is a supreme delight in philately : very fine condition, paid with a mix of stamps from the very first US and Canadian federal issues, and bearing the marks and cancellations that reveal the significant details of its routing.
The Beaver Cover was sold for $ 715K including premium by Christie's Robson Lowe on September 28, 1993. It is estimated $ 600K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 26. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection on the website of the auction house.
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
1861 Pony versus Iron Horse
2009 SOLD for $ 630K including premium
How did we communicate in 1860 between California and the East Coast of the United States? The answer to this question is a condensed history of progress and the adventure of the Pony Express is its most romantic (and less profitable!) episode.
Postal systems using horses existed since antiquity, with interruptions. Used by the kings and governments to communicate their messages and instructions, it required to establish stations at regular intervals to take fresh horses. Thus, as later for the railroad, the messenger had no choice for his course.
California, land of the Gold Rush, was part of the USA since 1850. Wells Fargo for the West and American Express in the East were the two sides of the same operation that was organizing the transfer of freight and mail by coach.
The idea to go faster by bearing the lighter mail by galloping horsemen is the origin of the Pony Express, which lasted 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861. The stamp was from its beginnings in 1840 the popular support for the registration of payment. Wells Fargo & Co edited a private stamp dedicated to the delivery of letters by the Pony Express, with values of $ 1, 2 and 4. The stamps are illustrated with a galloping rider, of course.
In the East, the Pony Express started from St. Joseph, Missouri, a city which had been reached by the railroad in 1859. The breakthrough which led to the ruin of the Pony Express was not however the iron horse, but the telegraph as soon as its transcontinental line was completed in October 1861. It was not until May 10, 1869 to celebrate and use the connection between East and West by rail.
On December 5 in New York City, Robert A. Siegel disperses a philatelic collection dedicated to the Pony Express. A particularly interesting cover, with a lower estimate of 500 K$, starting from San Francisco on September 7, 1861, had been forwarded to its destination in Switzerland where it arrived on October 10. It bears the double stamping of Wells Fargo and of the usual US stamps, the latter having been required to pay the end of the trip, of course.
For full details on the Pony Express, I recommend reading the catalog for this sale reference 979, to download in pdf from the site of the auction house. Also on the same page The Despatch Siegel No 35 Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. The dates of delivery of the letter to Switzerland and the estimate are extracted from the catalog.
To put this story in its context, I recommend the articles Pony Express and History of Wells Fargo of Wikipedia.
Postal systems using horses existed since antiquity, with interruptions. Used by the kings and governments to communicate their messages and instructions, it required to establish stations at regular intervals to take fresh horses. Thus, as later for the railroad, the messenger had no choice for his course.
California, land of the Gold Rush, was part of the USA since 1850. Wells Fargo for the West and American Express in the East were the two sides of the same operation that was organizing the transfer of freight and mail by coach.
The idea to go faster by bearing the lighter mail by galloping horsemen is the origin of the Pony Express, which lasted 18 months between April 1860 and October 1861. The stamp was from its beginnings in 1840 the popular support for the registration of payment. Wells Fargo & Co edited a private stamp dedicated to the delivery of letters by the Pony Express, with values of $ 1, 2 and 4. The stamps are illustrated with a galloping rider, of course.
In the East, the Pony Express started from St. Joseph, Missouri, a city which had been reached by the railroad in 1859. The breakthrough which led to the ruin of the Pony Express was not however the iron horse, but the telegraph as soon as its transcontinental line was completed in October 1861. It was not until May 10, 1869 to celebrate and use the connection between East and West by rail.
On December 5 in New York City, Robert A. Siegel disperses a philatelic collection dedicated to the Pony Express. A particularly interesting cover, with a lower estimate of 500 K$, starting from San Francisco on September 7, 1861, had been forwarded to its destination in Switzerland where it arrived on October 10. It bears the double stamping of Wells Fargo and of the usual US stamps, the latter having been required to pay the end of the trip, of course.
For full details on the Pony Express, I recommend reading the catalog for this sale reference 979, to download in pdf from the site of the auction house. Also on the same page The Despatch Siegel No 35 Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. The dates of delivery of the letter to Switzerland and the estimate are extracted from the catalog.
To put this story in its context, I recommend the articles Pony Express and History of Wells Fargo of Wikipedia.
1868 The Grilled Stamps
2015 SOLD for $ 660K including premium
The grilled stamps are regular but short lived variants of US philately. The idea was to indent the stamp to discourage the cleaning of the cancellation ink. The types of grills are identified by letters which are not related to their pattern of points.
The first tests are carried out with the A Grill in 1867. The tests are promising, but the A Grill covers the entire surface of the stamp, which reduces the production yield due to an excessive mechanical stress.
The B Grill is an experimental or involuntary aberration. Used in 1868 during the phase of removal of the A Grill, it was too large against the new specified standard that was the F Grill. The four known stamps with a B Grill are 3 cents. They were circulated on a single cover in February 1869 and discovered in 1969. They have been detached later.
The 1868 Z Grill is common for some stamp values but very rare for 1 cent, 10 cents and 15 cents for which it had not been planned, probably for reasons of production sequence.
The 1 cent Z Grill is known in two examples only. Only one of them is remaining in private hands. In a nice freshness, it was sold for $ 965K including premium by Robert A. Siegel in October 1998. This result is still now announced on the site of the auction house as the world record for a used US stamp.
The sale by Robert A. Siegel on June 25 in New York offers three grilled stamps among the rarest variants. Lot 3101 is one of eight known copies of the 30 cents A Grill. Lot 3102 is one of the four 3 cents B Grill discussed above. Lot 3103 is a beautiful specimen of 10 cents Z Grill, from six recorded units. The catalog value of these three stamps is respectively $ 210K, 1M and 650K.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES :
30 cents A Grill : $ 250K
3 cents B Grill : $ 575K
10 cents Z Grill : $ 325K
The first tests are carried out with the A Grill in 1867. The tests are promising, but the A Grill covers the entire surface of the stamp, which reduces the production yield due to an excessive mechanical stress.
The B Grill is an experimental or involuntary aberration. Used in 1868 during the phase of removal of the A Grill, it was too large against the new specified standard that was the F Grill. The four known stamps with a B Grill are 3 cents. They were circulated on a single cover in February 1869 and discovered in 1969. They have been detached later.
The 1868 Z Grill is common for some stamp values but very rare for 1 cent, 10 cents and 15 cents for which it had not been planned, probably for reasons of production sequence.
The 1 cent Z Grill is known in two examples only. Only one of them is remaining in private hands. In a nice freshness, it was sold for $ 965K including premium by Robert A. Siegel in October 1998. This result is still now announced on the site of the auction house as the world record for a used US stamp.
The sale by Robert A. Siegel on June 25 in New York offers three grilled stamps among the rarest variants. Lot 3101 is one of eight known copies of the 30 cents A Grill. Lot 3102 is one of the four 3 cents B Grill discussed above. Lot 3103 is a beautiful specimen of 10 cents Z Grill, from six recorded units. The catalog value of these three stamps is respectively $ 210K, 1M and 650K.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES :
30 cents A Grill : $ 250K
3 cents B Grill : $ 575K
10 cents Z Grill : $ 325K
1869 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%.
1869 The Pictorial Failure
2018 SOLD for $ 740K including premium
When an operation is stopped because of public displeasure, the produced pieces acquire a high rarity. Numismatists have the 1793 Chain cent and philatelists the 1869 Pictorial stamps.
Developed by the Postmaster General of the Johnson Administration, the Pictorial series was innovative. Users did not like the small and square format, the tiny illustrations and the poor adhesion of the gum. The mixing of themes is excessive and confusing between traditional presidential portraits, official symbols, the history of the Post Office and the heroic paintings of the Capitol.
Politics got involved, pushed by disputes over the choice of the printing subcontractor. The Grant Administration had no reason to support Johnson's initiatives. The Pictorial series had been released in March 1869 just after Grant's inauguration. Its obsolescence in favor of a new series of presidential figures on an enlarged format was decided in September 1869 and the availability of the Pictorials ceased in April 1870.
The four highest denominations of the Pictorials are the first two-color stamps in production, made in two successive printing runs. The tooling is poorly designed, generating inversions of the central vignette within the frame. An unused 15c Inverted graded Very Fine with original gum was sold for $ 920K including premium by Siegel on October 9, 2013.
A block of four 24c with inverted centers and cork cancels from New York City was discovered in Liverpool in the late 1880s. It had probably contributed to mail a parcel. This unique piece has become one of the stars of philately. Graded Very Fine, it is estimated $ 750K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 89. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection in the website of the auction house.
Developed by the Postmaster General of the Johnson Administration, the Pictorial series was innovative. Users did not like the small and square format, the tiny illustrations and the poor adhesion of the gum. The mixing of themes is excessive and confusing between traditional presidential portraits, official symbols, the history of the Post Office and the heroic paintings of the Capitol.
Politics got involved, pushed by disputes over the choice of the printing subcontractor. The Grant Administration had no reason to support Johnson's initiatives. The Pictorial series had been released in March 1869 just after Grant's inauguration. Its obsolescence in favor of a new series of presidential figures on an enlarged format was decided in September 1869 and the availability of the Pictorials ceased in April 1870.
The four highest denominations of the Pictorials are the first two-color stamps in production, made in two successive printing runs. The tooling is poorly designed, generating inversions of the central vignette within the frame. An unused 15c Inverted graded Very Fine with original gum was sold for $ 920K including premium by Siegel on October 9, 2013.
A block of four 24c with inverted centers and cork cancels from New York City was discovered in Liverpool in the late 1880s. It had probably contributed to mail a parcel. This unique piece has become one of the stars of philately. Graded Very Fine, it is estimated $ 750K for sale by Robert A. Siegel in New York on October 3, lot 89. Here is the link to the section dedicated to the Gross collection in the website of the auction house.
1901 Two Invert Blocks
2009 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
Blocks 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.
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.
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.
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.
