Terms of SaleBid IncrementsGradingLinksContact

Sale 121: Gems of Philately

Previous ChapterTable of ContentsNext Chapter

Postmasters' Provisional & 1847-1851 Issues

Lots 85-94

Lot 85 o   

St. Louis, Mo., 1846, 10¢ black on gray lilac, type II, position 4, pen cancel, ample to large margins, sharp detailed impression, few small thins with a couple filled, P.S.E. certificate state a repair which we find no evidence of, Very Fine appearance; with 2021 P.S.A.G., P.S.E. & P.F. certificates.
Scott No. 11X5    $12,500 for pen canceled.

A HANDSOME EXAMPLE OF THE 10¢ ST. LOUIS PROVISIONAL ON GRAYISH LILAC PAPER.



Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (5.7MB).

Realized: $3,250

email this lot to a friend

Lot 86 o   

1847, 5¢ red brown, neat red grid cancel, strong color, huge evenly balanced margins, Superb, an exceptional used gem; with 2023 P.F. certificate Graded (S 98, SSV $3,850).
Scott No. 1    $425.



Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (3.0MB).

Realized: $5,250

email this lot to a friend

Lot 87    

1847, 5¢ red brown, ample to large margins, tied by central blue waffle grid handstamp on 1850 folded letter written and signed by Edward Evert and addressed to the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., matching "Cambridge, Ms., Jun 26" cds, Extremely Fine, a wonderful usage from this prominent Massachusetts statesmen; with 2024 P.F. certificate.
Scott No. 1    Estimate $750 - 1,000.

Edward Everett was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Massachusetts, minister to Great Britain, and United States secretary of state. He also taught at Harvard University and served as its president.

Complete images including certificate(s):

Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (5.4MB).

Realized: $1,600

email this lot to a friend

Lot 88    

1847, 5¢ blackish brown, full margin and rich color, canceled by socked-on-the-nose blue grid handstamp on folded letter to Westfield, N.Y., matching bold oval "Buffalo, N.Y., Oct 13" date stamp; trivial cover edge nick at right, Extremely Fine; with 2024 P.S.A.G. certificate.
Scott No. 1a var.    Estimate $750 - 1,000.

AN EXCEPTIONAL FANCY BUFFALO TOWNMARK AND 1847 5¢ ISSUE IN THE SCARCE BLACKISH BROWN SHADE.



Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (2.9MB).

Realized: $950

email this lot to a friend

Lot 89 o   

1847, 5¢ orange brown, blue grid cancels, large to huge margin showing portion of adjacent stamp at left, brilliant true orange brown shade, Superb; with 2023 P.F. certificate Graded (Superb 98, SSV $4,250).
Scott No. 1b    $675.

ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE 1847 5¢ ISSUE IN THE ORANGE BROWN SHADE.

By way of comparison, the P.S.E. population report lists the highest awarded grade for the 5¢ orange brown issue at 95.

Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (3.0MB).

Realized: $7,250

email this lot to a friend

Lot 90    

1851, 1¢ blue, type IIIa, position 15R1e, showing wide breaking on top outerline, margins clear to unobtrusively touching at bottom, tied by clear full strike of red "Valentine's Day, February 14, Fremont, Ohio." three-line slogan postmark on small locally addressed ladies drop cover, with illustrated Bible forget-me-not label entitled "A Friend" on backflap, stamp additional pen canceled; some trivial faint cover toning, Very Fine and choice, illustrated and written up in February 1997 edition of Linn's Stamp News, the February 2014 edition of the American Philatelist, and the February 2017 edition of the Chronicle; with 1996 A.P.S. certificate.
Scott No. 8A    Estimate $7,500 - 10,000.

A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF THE FREMONT, OHIO "VALENTINE'S DAY" SLOGAN POSTMARK - THE EARLIEST AMERICAN SLOGAN CANCELLATION KNOWN AND ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR VALENTINE COVERS IN EXISTENCE.

According to Dr. Milgram, while there are a few cancellations on the 1851-57 series that contain wording, the words usually pertain to postal matters (i.e. the "Used And Done For" cancel from Fairhaven, Ct.). This unique townmark is the first slogan cancellation used in the United States. According to the A.S.C.C., Fremont used a straightline postmark in blue in 1850. Accompanying this cover is an unlisted example of the Fremont straight line on 1850 folded letter in red that closely matched the red ink on the Valentine cover posted several years later.

According to David Zlowe, who had examined the stamp and cover, positively identified the stamp as a type IIIa from position 15R1e which also has a double transfer, particularly in the "O" and "S" of "POSTAGE".

Realized: $14,500

email this lot to a friend

Lot 91 o   

1852, 1¢ blue, type IV, neat town cancel, huge well balance margins showing portions of adjacent stamps at left and bottom with full sheet margin at top, strong bold color, a Superb jumbo, a spectacular large margin gem; with 2022 P.F. certificate Graded (Superb 98 Jumbo, SMQ $1,900).
Scott No. 9    $100.



Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (3.0MB).

Realized: $1,000

email this lot to a friend

Lot 92    

1852, 1¢ blue, type IV, vertical pair, canceled by manuscript "Paid 22" additional prepaid rating on folded letter sheet to Berlin, Germany, with manuscript "Washington, Mo., Oct 21" origin postmark, letter short paid of the 30¢ Prussian Closed Mail rate and treated unpaid with "N. York Am. Pkt., 23, Oct 29" exchange cds, red Aachen transit backstamp; small tear in bottom stamp, otherwise Very Fine, an unusual postage and cash attempted prepayment combination.
Scott No. 9    Estimate $400 - 600.

Realized: $425

email this lot to a friend

Lot 93 o   

1857, 3¢ pinkish, type I, position 93R4, bottom margin single, New York town cancel, ample to mostly large margins, bright radiant color indicative of this extraordinary shade, an Extremely Fine gem; with 2016 P.F. certificate.
Scott No. 11 var.    $5,750.

A TRULY MAGNIFICENT SHEET MARGIN EXAMPLE OF THE EXTRAORDINARILY RARE 1857 3¢ PINKISH - WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES EXTANT.

This 3¢ pinkish is rarest recognized color of all 1851 3¢ issues. This elusive shade is known from printings of both plate four and plate eight. With only a small handful of examples certified by the P.F. and Dr. Amonette, including one on cover example signed by Dr. Amonette.

Complete images including certificate(s):
View gallery or Download PDF (2.9MB).

Realized: $4,000

email this lot to a friend

Lot 94 o   

1855, 10¢ green, type II, stunning huge margins all around including parts of five adjoining stamps, deep rich color with an intense impression, neat strike of partial grid cancel, a Superb jumbo gem; with 2009 and 2014 P.F. certificates, the latter Graded (Gem 100 Jumbo).
Scott No. 14    $145.

THE ULTIMATE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1855 10¢ TYPE II IMPERFORATE, GRADED GEM 100 JUMBO BY THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION. THE HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE, AND ONLY EXAMPLE TO ACHIEVE IT. AN EXTRAORDINARY STAMP IN EVERY RESPECT.

The stamp offered here is a true condition rarity with four enormous margins framing the entire stamp design. Considering that large 10¢ used blocks are rare, usually with faults and close margins, it is hard to imagine another "perfect" used example being harvested from a multiple.

The P.S.E. opinioned on this stamp in 2010 stating that is stamp has "overall light cleaning". However we found no evidence of this whatsoever and our conclusion backed up by the clear 2014 P.F. certificate.

Realized: $1,600

email this lot to a friend

Lots 85-94

Previous ChapterTable of ContentsNext Chapter