2012 Rarities of the World continued...

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A MAGNIFICENT MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT HORIZONTAL COIL, SCOTT 388. THIS STAMP HAS BEEN AWARDED THE GRADE OF SUPERB 98 BY P.S.E.

This 2c coil was in production for only a short period of time before being superseded by the Perf 8-1/2 issue. Due to the greater popularity of the horizontal coils with users, combined with a wary attitude by many collectors that early coils were simply trimmed stamps, many were used and few preserved.

Of the Scott 388 stamps in the P.S.E. Population Report, only three Mint N.H. examples have graded above 70. There is one 95, this 98 and one 98J.

With 2003 P.F. certificate. P.S.E. encapsulated (Superb 98, SMQ $32,500.00). This is the only example to achieve this grade and only one has graded higher (at 98J) (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF THE RARE 3-CENT ORANGEBURG COIL ON A FRESH COVER. ONLY THIRTEEN ORANGEBURG COIL COVERS HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS GENUINE BY THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION.

The Orangeburg coil was made by the Post Office Department in 1911, specifically for use by the Bell Pharmaceutical Company. The 3c coil stamps were used to send samples of their products to physicians. Due to the quantity of mail, they were put through the first-class cancelling machine at Orangeburg, New York. The Orangeburg coil stamps' use on third-class mail, and the fact that philatelists were generally unaware of their production accounts for their rarity.

Ex Klein. With 2006 P.F. certificate. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A GORGEOUS MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 1915 2-CENT TYPE I VERTICAL COIL, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E. THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED TO DATE.

The 2c Type I rotary plate was used very briefly to make vertical coils issued in late 1915. It was briefly used because the Type I plate was not very deeply engraved and the curvature of the rotary press yielded impressions lacking in some of the details. The Bureau noticed this immediately, and quickly replaced it with the Type III plate (according to Scott, the EDU for No. 449 is Oct. 29, 1915 and the EDU for Type III is Dec. 21, 1915).

With 2012 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95, SMQ $13,700.00). This is the highest grade awarded to date for any unused Scott 449 -- the highest grade for a pair or joint line pair is a 90 -- and only one other shares this grade. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A GORGEOUS MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE $1.00 FRANKLIN, SCOTT 460, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E.

With 2008 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95, SMQ $5,650.00). Only five have graded higher to date. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. AN OUTSTANDING MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE $1.00 PERF 10 UNWATERMARKED FRANKLIN ISSUE, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E.

With 2008 P.S.E. certificate (XF-Superb 95, SMQ $6,000.00). Only one has graded higher to date (at 98) (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF THE 2-CENT TYPE Ia IMPERFORATE IN EXISTENCE. AN OUTSTANDING RARITY AND ONE OF THE RAREST STAMPS OF 20TH CENTURY UNITED STATES PHILATELY.

Scott 482A, like its slightly more famous predecessor, Scott 314A, was issued imperforate by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and sold to the Schermack Company for use in its patented stamp-affixing machines. The Schermack "Sealer and Stamper" machine typically applied stamps one at a time, and, in most cases, the hyphen-hole perfs on one side would be cut off. Unlike Scott 314A, the release of imperforate sheets printed from the experimental Type Ia plates escaped the notice of contemporary collectors, and, therefore, has a very small survival rate.

Our census of Scott 482A (available at www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/482A/482A.pdf ) records one pair (ex Zoellner), three covers, one unused single and 34 used singles for a total of 40 stamps.

Schermack Type III stamps are often cut into the design by the oblong perforations or miscut with one side of the perforated margin missing. This problem for collectors, which meant very little to contemporary users of the stamps, resulted from two consecutive events. First, the sheets were perforated with the Schermack holes, creating an opportunity for misalignment between the stamps. Second, when the strip of stamps was fed through the Schermack affixing machine, the cutting blade did not always align with the space between stamps. The stamp offered here is remarkable because the Schermack perforations just touch the design, and it was cut with margins well clear of the design and with Schermack perforations intact.

Census No. 482A-CAN-20. Ex Twigg-Smith and Scarsdale. 1989 and 2001 P.F. certificates no longer accompany. With 2009 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90, SMQ $136,000.00) (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL MINT NEVER-HINGED INTACT PANE OF 100 CONTAINING TWO OF THE IMPERFORATE 5-CENT CARMINE ERROR. AN IMPRESSIVE MULTIPLE.

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

Small backstamp at lower right well away from errors. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A STUNNING EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT IMPERFORATE CARMINE ERROR IN A BLOCK OF NINE, WITH THE ERROR AND TWO SIDE STAMPS IN MINT NEVER-HINGED CONDITION.

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

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