The William H. Gross Collection: United States Multiples continued...

DESCRIPTION

3¢ Violet (464), Mint N.H. full top plate number 7253 block of six, wide margins and well-centered, post office fresh, deep rich color and bright paper

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES SCOTT VALUE (2019)

Very Fine and choice $2,500.00 (Image)

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DESCRIPTION

4¢ Orange Brown (465), Mint N.H. full top plate number 7331 block of six, wide margins and well-centered, deep rich color on bright fresh paper

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES SCOTT VALUE (2019)

Very Fine and choice $1,100.00 (Image)

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DESCRIPTION

6¢ Red Orange (468), Mint N.H. full top plate number 7137 block of six, wide margins and very choice centering, bright color showing just a bit of oxidation

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES SCOTT VALUE (2019)

Very Fine and choice $2,500.00 (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 468]

DESCRIPTION

8¢ Olive Green (470), Mint N.H. full top "BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING" imprint and plate number A 5724 block of six, wide margins and wonderfully well-centered, post-office fresh color and paper

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine Gem

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$1,050.00 (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 470]

DESCRIPTION

9¢ Salmon Red (471), full top plate number 6915 block of six, four stamps Mint N.H., hinge remnant straddling two stamps, beautiful centering and margins, bright color

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$750.00 (Image)

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DESCRIPTION

15¢ Gray (475), Bottom plate number 6809 block of six, lightly hinged, fresh color, well-centered with wide margins

PROVENANCE

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CONDITION NOTES

Very Fine

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$3,000.00

Errata: Lightly hinged. Scott Retail for hinged plate block $3,000.00 (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 475]

DESCRIPTION

30¢ Orange Red, Perf 10 (476A), Mint N.H. bottom plate number 6917 block of six from lower right pane, centered to left

PROVENANCE

As pane of 100 (Plate 6917 Lower Right): Percy McGraw Mann, pane of 100, Plate 6917, discovered in 1917

The Philatelic Foundation certificate 547 (1947) to Robson Lowe

Jack E. Molesworth, resubmitted the pane to P.F. in 1960 (reportedly acquired from New Jersey collector James Hughes)

R. D. Brown, Arizona collector (from Jack Molesworth, pane broken into blocks and singles by 1972), sold to Nagel

As plate block: Lawson Nagel, Siegel Auction Galleries, 1993 Rarities of the World, 11/20/1993, Sale 755, lot 272

Dr. J. Paul Wampler, Shreves Philatelic Galleries, 4/24-25/1998, lot 252, to William H. Gross

CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES

One of four recorded plate blocks--the only bottom position

American Philatelist (March 1961, full pane pictured on front cover)

Opinions V, The Philatelic Foundation, 1988

Ken Lawrence, "The Stamp of Controversy," 2015 Linn's online

CERTIFICATION

The Philatelic Foundation (pane--1947, 1960; plate block--1972)

CONDITION NOTES

Fine; a few minor telescoped perfs at bottom

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$80,000.00

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

The Missing Watermark

The 30¢ Orange Red Perf 10 Unwatermarked Issue, Scott 476A, was discovered in 1917 and was reported to the philatelic press by stamp dealer Percy McGraw Mann, who is also known for his role in selling William Robey's Inverted Jenny sheet to Colonel Green through fellow dealer Eugene Klein. An early believer in the stamp was Benjamin K. Miller, who acquired a margin block of four in 1918 (Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection, Trepel-Lawrence, p. 126). A comprehensive analysis and survey of the issue was written by Ken Lawrence and included a concise summary of the production history of the 30¢ Franklin stamps ("The Stamp of Controversy," Linn's 7/1/2015). We quote:

Stamps of the 30¢ Franklin design were first issued in April 1914, primarily to use on parcels after dedicated parcel post stamps had been phased out. Four 400-subject plates were prepared and sent to press--Nos. 6899, 6911, 6914 and 6917. At that time, gauge 12 was the perforation standard, and stamp paper included single-line watermarks. Those stamps are listed as Scott 420. A few months later, the same plates went back to press. By the time those prints were finished and issued in September 1914, gauge 10 had become the perforation standard, listed as Scott 439. A third printing in June 1916, about two months before the change to unwatermarked paper, replenished the depleted inventory with another Scott 439 batch. The fourth printing of the same four plates occurred from March 13 to 17, 1917, after the switch to unwatermarked paper. The BEP had begun to replace worn-out gauge 10 perforating wheels with new gauge 11 wheels at that time, but did not complete the changeover until May 10. It's likely that some of the printed sheets were finished on one or more old perforators, yielding stamps now listed as Scott 476A...

Official Bureau records do not specifically identify a printing of the 30¢ value on unwatermarked paper that was perforated gauge 10. However, in the past 100 years two panes of 100 each (200 stamps in all) have surfaced--both of which have been certified by The Philatelic Foundation--clearly attesting to the existence of such a variety. The first pane discovered was a lower right pane from Plate 6917, which was first certified by the P.F. in 1947. This pane had plate blocks at the bottom (offered here) and at right. The second pane discovered was an upper right pane from Plate 6911 with plate blocks at the top (ex Fogelson) and at right (ex Hall). These four plate blocks come from these two panes, and the bottom and top positions are each unique. A bottom Plate 6914 single has been certified, obviously from a different pane. (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 476A]

DESCRIPTION

30¢ Orange Red, Perf 10 (476A), Positions 32-33/42-43, Mint N.H. block of four from the discovery Plate 6917 pane of 100, vivid color, exceptional centering for this issue--the vast majority of known examples are off center

PROVENANCE

As pane of 100 (Plate 6917 Lower Right): Percy McGraw Mann, pane of 100, Plate 6917, discovered in 1917

The Philatelic Foundation certificate 547 (1947) to Robson Lowe

Jack E. Molesworth, resubmitted the pane to P.F. in 1960 (reportedly acquired from New Jersey collector James Hughes)

R. D. Brown, Arizona collector (from Jack Molesworth, pane broken into blocks and singles by 1972), sold to Nagel

CERTIFICATION

The Philatelic Foundation (pane--1947, 1960; block--1988)

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$23,000.00

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

Exceptionally Choice 30¢ Unwatermarked Perf 10

The history of the 30¢ 1916 Unwatermarked Perf 10, Scott 476A, is provided in the description of lot 244, the bottom plate block from Plate 6917 (Lower Right pane). This block of four originates from the same pane, which was discovered in 1917 and certified in 1947.

Two complete panes of 100 of Scott 476A have been certified by The Philatelic Foundation and subsequently broken up into singles, blocks and four plate blocks. Many of the stamps from the lower right pane of 100 from Plate 6917 are centered to the left. This block is exceptional for that pane, as all four stamps are well-centered with wide margins. Position 32, the upper left stamp in this block, is very choice. Interestingly, one of the finest centered stamps from the Plate 6911 pane of 100 is also from Position 32 (graded VF-XF 85 by The Philatelic Foundation). (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 476A]

DESCRIPTION

50¢ Light Violet (477), bottom plate number 7057 block of six, bottom stamps Mint N.H., top stamps lightly hinged, deep rich color, choice margins and centering

PROVENANCE

Siegel Auction Galleries, 1993 Rarities of the World, 11/20/1993, Sale 755, lot 273

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CERTIFICATION

The Philatelic Foundation (1993)

CONDITION NOTES

Very Fine and choice, bottom left stamp light pencil notation on gum

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$65,000.00

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

A Brief Concurrence of Paper and Perforation

The 50¢ Franklin on unwatermarked paper with 10-gauge perforations was available in post office stocks for a very brief period in 1917, because it was released shortly before the introduction of the new Perf 11 series. Its predecessors--the 50¢ Perf 12 on single and double-line watermarked paper (Scott 421 and 422), and the Perf 10 on single-line watermarked paper (Scott 440)--were available for much longer periods of time.

Lewis Kaufman records only seven plate number blocks of Scott 477, including top 7040, top 7049 (ex Fogelson), top 7057 (in the Miller collection, The New York Public Library), bottom 7057 (offered here, 1993 Rarities sale), bottom 7057 (ex Todd and Wampler), right 7040 (ex Curtis) and right 7057. (Image)

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DESCRIPTION

$1.00 Violet Black (478), full top "BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING" imprint and plate number A 5782 block of six, five stamps Mint N.H., only the bottom center stamp hinged, nearly perfect centering, rich color on bright paper

PROVENANCE

Weill Brothers' Stock, Christie's Robson Lowe, 10/12/1989, lot 305

Paul Cheyney (collection sold privately to Mr. Gross)

CERTIFICATION

The Philatelic Foundation (1989)

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine Gem

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$11,000.00

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

Selvage Size Matters

Plate 5782 was the only plate used to print the $1.00 Franklin (Scott 423, 460, 478 and 518). Lewis Kaufman records 13 available top plate number blocks of Scott 478 (plus four bottom plate blocks), but not all of these are full tops as several have reduced selvage (there is a top position in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library). (Image)

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DESCRIPTION

$1.00 Violet Black (478), bottom "BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING" imprint and plate number A 5782 block of six, five stamps Mint N.H., top center stamp hinge remnant, remarkably precise centering, bright and fresh

PROVENANCE

Dr. J. Paul Wampler, Shreves Philatelic Galleries, 4/24-25/1998, lot 252, to William H. Gross

CONDITION NOTES

Extremely Fine

SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019)

$11,000.00

HISTORY AND COMMENTARY

Remarkable Centering

Plate 5782 was the only plate used to print the $1.00 Franklin (Scott 423, 460, 478 and 518). Lewis Kaufman records 13 available top plate number blocks and four bottom plate blocks of Scott 478 (there is a top position in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library). This bottom plate block has particularly choice centering and is one of the finest of the small number known. (Image)

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Get Market Data for [United States 478]