2016 Rarities of the World continued...

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE UNUSED EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 ISSUE ONE-CENT FIRST DESIGN. ONLY 24 ARE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS. OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1972.

Our census of Scott 55, available at our website at: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/55/55.pdf , contains a total of 25 examples of this stamp. Of these, one is in The New York Public Library collection. Of the 24 available to collectors, nine have no gum, thirteen have gum and two are cancelled. Approximately half are defective to some degree. The example offered here is better than many.

Census No. 55-UNC-12. Ex Ferrary with his purple trefoil backstamp. Ex "Country Gentleman" (Siegel Sale 442, Nov. 29, 1972) where illustrated on the front cover (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 5-CENT FIRST DESIGN. ONLY 36 EXAMPLES ARE KNOWN.

Our census of Scott 57, available at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/57/57.pdf , contains a total of 36 copies of this rarity. Of these, one is in The New York Public Library collection. Of the 35 thought to be available to collectors, two are cancelled, 18 have no gum, five have part original gum and ten have full (or nearly full) original gum. Eight of the full or part original gum stamps in private hands are sound or have tiny flaws, such as a corner perf crease. Of the no-gum copies, seven are sound or have a small toned spot, and the other eleven have faults of varying degrees.

Census No. 57-UNC-16. With 1971 P.F. certificate stating "genuine, slightly defective at top". From our 1972 Rarities sale and offered to the market for the first time in 44 years. (Image)

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VERY FINE. A PHENOMENALLY RARE INTACT PANE OF 100 OF THE 10-CENT 1861 ISSUE FIRST DESIGN PLATE PROOF ON INDIA. AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL EXHIBITION PIECE.

The famous Josiah K. Lilly collection, distributed by the Siegel Firm from 1967-68 in a series of 10 sales, contained complete proof sheets on India paper and on card for United States Classic issues through the Columbians, which came from the Earl of Crawford and Ackerman estates. The 1861 10c First Design, Scott 62B (formerly Scott 58) was present in the Lilly collection only on India paper and is not believed to exist on card. This pane represents the left half of the sheet of 200 from the Lilly collection (Siegel sale 320, lot 201), which was purchased by Raymond Weill and divided into two panes of 100. Scott 62BP3 is scarce in any form of multiple, with none larger than a block of four listed in Power Search.

Ex Earl of Crawford, Ackerman and Lilly. Unlisted as a plate block or block of four. Scott Retail as singles, which does not remotely do justice to the rarity of this full pane (Image)

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FINE APPEARING ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 10-CENT FIRST DESIGN.

A scarce stamp in original-gum condition. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLES OF THE 1861 12-CENT FIRST DESIGN IN EXISTENCE. THIS IS THE CELEBRATED LILLY-SEYMOUR COPY, WHICH IS OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OUR 1970 SEYMOUR AUCTION.

The 12c is the rarest of the 1861 First Designs and Colors, with a total of 16 examples recorded, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. Our census of the 12c 1861 First Design is available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/enc/census/59.pdf . Of the 15 copies available to collectors, only eight have full original gum. Of these eight only three are sound (Census No. 09, which has slightly disturbed gum, No. 15 and this stamp, No. 10). Only one of the no-gum stamps is sound (Census No. 06). Apart from soundness, the stamp offered here is also one of the best-centered.

Census No. 59-OG-10. Ex Lilly and A. T. Seymour. With 1949 and 2016 P.F. certificates. Offered to the market for the first time since 1970. (Image)

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A SCARCE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 24-CENT DARK VIOLET EARLY TRIAL PRINTING. ONE OF THE RAREST OF THE 24-CENT 1861-63 ISSUE SHADES.

The Dark Violet trial printing and Violet regular issue shades are often confused, and the Scott Catalogue adds to the confusion by putting the Dark Violet (the old Scott 60) in the Trial Color Proofs section as 70TCe, while the Violet gets a front seat as Scott 70c. In our opinion, there is no good reason to relegate the Dark Violet to the Trial Color Proof section. As a result, the stamp offered here is undercatalogued in relation to other 24c stamps of equal rarity. For example, Scott 70c has a value of $35,000.00 versus Scott 70TCe at $15,000.00. (Image)

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VERY FINE AND CHOICE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED USED EXAMPLE OF THE 24-CENT 1861 ISSUE FIRST COLOR. A NEW DISCOVERY, THIS NOW JOINS THE 5-CENT (SCOTT 57), 10-CENT (SCOTT 62B) AND 30-CENT (SCOTT 61) AS THE ONLY USED DENOMINATIONS OF THE FIRST DESIGNS AND COLORS.

In 1861 the contract for printing postage stamps was awarded to National Bank Note Company after Toppan Carpenter's contract expired on June 10, 1861. The designs were changed and the earlier stamps were demonetized, primarily as a means of depriving the seceding states of a form of currency.

National Bank Note Company apparently submitted gummed and perforated samples of their designs. Of the original submitted designs, the 24c and 30c were not altered in any way before approval and use. The original samples for these two denominations were printed in a different shade, and are currently listed in the Trial Color Proof section of Scott Catalogue. A quantity of the 10c First Design was printed and issued from this original plate, although they were likely printed after the normal stamp (Scott 68) was issued. The likely reason is that the original plate was brought into use to keep up with demand for the 10c stamps. Therefore, only the 10c, 24c and 30c plates as originally made were used to print issued stamps. The other denominations -- 1c, 3c, 5c, 12c and 90c -- Scott Nos. 55, 56, 57, 59 and 62 -- were never issued in their original designs. These are called "Premiere Gravures" or "First Designs" by students of the issue.

It is likely that a small supply of the "Premiere Gravures" and First Colors reached philatelic hands at an early stage. Several First Design denominations are known cancelled -- a 12c is known with manuscript "New" written across the design -- but the placement and style of cancel means that they cannot conclusively be shown to have gone through the mails, and are likely experimental or control cancels. The example offered here, with the same design as the issued stamp but in the distinct First Color, has a cork target cancellation consistent with those used during this time period and so it likely was sent through the mail. It is a great rarity of the issue.

With 2016 P.F. certificate. Unpriced in Scott as used. Scott Retail as unused $15,000.00. A better indicator of value would be the unique 5c and 30c used examples, which were offered in our 2012 Natalee Grace sale. They realized $50,000 and $40,000 hammer, respectively. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 30-CENT 1861 FIRST COLOR WITH ORIGINAL GUM. THIS WAS THE RIGHT STAMP IN THE LILLY PAIR.

Our census of the 30c 1861 First Color, available at http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/61/61.pdf , contains a total of 33 examples, including one in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library. A characteristic common to most examples of the 30c 1861 First Color is faint creasing, which in some cases is very severe and in others barely visible. Six stamps with original gum are free of faults, although a few have a trivial nibbed perf or two. All of the sound stamps are centered to one side (as are most of the others).

Census No. 61-OG-17. Ex Lilly as right stamp in a pair with Census No. 61-OG-16. With copy of 1967 P.F. certificate as pair. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARING EXAMPLE OF THE 1861 90-CENT FIRST DESIGN. THIS IS THE SECOND RAREST OF THE 1861 FIRST DESIGNS AND COLORS.

Our census of the 1861 First Designs and Colors is available at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/62/62.pdf . It contains 22 examples of Scott 62, including one copy in the Miller collection at The New York Public Library and another certified as a privately-perforated No. 62a, which comes from a set in the Colonel Green sale that was signed by John Luff (we believe this stamp to be genuine). One of the stamps has been certified as genuine with a trial cancel. Excluding the Miller copy, only eight examples of the 90c First Design have original gum. The example offered here, with minor imperfections that are not visible and with choice centering, should be considered highly desirable.

Census No. 62-UNC-11. Offered to the market for the first time since our 1972 Rarities sale. (Image)

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