2014 Rarities of the World continued...

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A STRIKING WIDE-MARGINED MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE NUMBER SINGLE OF THE 1918 $5.00 BI-COLOR ISSUE, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED SUPERB 98 JUMBO BY P.S.E.

The only example to be graded Superb 98 Jumbo, with just two grading higher.

With 2011 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98 Jumbo; SMQ $2,650.00 as 98) (Image)

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FINE-VERY FINE CENTERING. A RARE COMPLETE PANE OF 100 OF THE 3-CENT VICTORY ISSUE IN THE LIGHT REDDISH VIOLET SHADE.

This shade is far scarcer than its catalogue value would indicate. Scott Retail as hinged plate block, Mint N.H. plate block and mix of hinged and Mint N.H. singles more than $25,000.00 (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A STUNNING MINT NEVER-HINGED INTACT PANE OF 170 OF SCOTT 538a, THE 1919 ONE-CENT WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PERFORATED 11 BY 10.

During World War I, leftovers at the end of each rotary press coil roll had been accumulating. They were perforated 10 in one direction on the rotary press perforator, but were too short to be used for coil rolls (issued in rolls of 500 or 1,000). In an effort to save waste, they were later perforated 11 in the horizontal direction using the wheel-type perforator normally used for flat-plate printings, giving us Scott Nos. 538, 539 and 540. The imperforate horizontally sheets (Scott Nos. 538a and 540a) were acquired by by Edward C. Worden, who sold them through J.M. Bartels in 1922.

Scott Retail as plate block and 83 pairs (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL AND RARE INTACT PANE OF 170 OF THE 2-CENT TYPE III COIL WASTE, SCOTT 540a, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PERFORATED 11 BY 10.

During World War I, leftovers at the end of each rotary press coil roll had been accumulating. They were perforated 10 in one direction on the rotary press perforator, but were too short to be used for coil rolls (issued in rolls of 500 or 1,000). In an effort to save waste, they were later perforated 11 in the horizontal direction using the wheel-type perforator normally used for flat-plate printings, giving us Scott Nos. 538, 539 and 540. The imperforate horizontally sheets (Scott Nos. 538a and 540a) were acquired by by Edward C. Worden, who sold them through J.M. Bartels in 1922.

Scott Retail as plate block and 83 pairs (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS MAGNIFICENT MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE $5.00 1922 ISSUE HAS BEEN GRADED GEM 100 BY P.S.E. -- THE ESSENCE OF PERFECTION.

Collectors seeking to build superb sets of the most iconic United States definitive issues have been waiting for the key top value of the 1922 Issue, Scott 573, to be certified as Gem 100. Despite more than 380 prior submissions of Mint N.H. stamps to P.S.E., this is the first and only example to achieve the perfect grade of Gem 100. Looking at the set as a whole, the only other stamps still without a Mint N.H. Gem 100 grade are the 5c and 9c values (Scott 557 and 561).

With 2014 P.S.E. certificate (Gem 100; unpriced in SMQ above the grade of 98). No other example has been graded above 98 (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE FINEST SINGLES OF THE 44 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11 STAMPS RECORDED IN OUR CENSUS.

Our census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11(www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/613/613.pdf ) records 43 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all), one used pair and the strip of three offered in the following lot. Of the singles, approximately 30 are sound, but of these only six rate a grade of Very Fine or Extremely Fine. The stamp offered here is easily superior to almost all others.

The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc., and the stamp offered here was part of that find. Gary Griffith presents his hypothesis in United States Stamps 1922-26 that rotary-printed sheets of 400 were first reduced to panes of 100 and then fed through the 11-gauge perforating machine normally used for flat plate sheets. This method distinguishes sheet-waste stamps -- Scott 544, 596 and 613 -- from the coil-waste stamps and explains the existence of a straight-edge on Scott 613.

Census No. 613-CAN-06. Ex Sheriff. Two older P.F. certificates no longer accompany. P.S.E. Encapsulated (XF 90; SMQ $132,000.00). This is the highest grade awarded and the only example to achieve this grade. The next-highest grade is an 80. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE UNIQUE STRIP OF THREE OF THE 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11, WHICH IS THE LARGEST KNOWN MULTIPLE. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY MULTIPLES EXTANT, WHICH WAS DISCOVERED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS.

Warren G. Harding, the 29th President, died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, during a cross-country "Voyage of Understanding". Several people suggested a Harding memorial stamp, printed in black, and it was rushed into production. The first flat plate Perf 11 stamps (Scott 610) were issued on September 1, 1923, in his home town of Marion, Ohio, followed less than two weeks later by the rotary press Perf 10 stamps (Scott 612) on September 12.

The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp -- combining the rotary press printing with the perforation gauge used for the flat plate printing -- was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc. Gary Griffith presents his hypothesis in United States Stamps 1922-26 that rotary-printed sheets of 400 were first reduced to panes of 100 and then fed through the 11-gauge perforating machine normally used for flat plate sheets. This method explains the existence of a straight-edge on Scott 613. Production quality and quantity was very low, due to the rotary press stamps' natural tendency to curl, and the use of the flat plate perforator for the slightly different-sized rotary printing.

For the first approximately 70 years that this issue was known, the largest multiples recorded were two pairs, one of which has been broken into two singles. The discovery of this strip by a Harding specialist created a sensation in the philatelic press before it was first auctioned by Matthew Bennett in 2007. In the process of expertizing the strip, the discoverer went to the National Postal Museum to study the eight proof sheets (3,200 stamps) pulled from the plates that were used for the rotary press printings. On the fifth sheet, the matching plating marks were discovered, proving that this multiple came from Positions 56-58 in the upper right pane of Plate 14867 -- a plate that was used only for rotary press printings.

Our updated census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11, available at our website at http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/613/613.pdf , records 43 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all), one used pair and this unique used strip of three.

Census No. 613-CAN-STR-01. With 2007 P.F. and P.S.E. certificates (the latter transposing two digits of the plate number) (Image)

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VERY FINE. A RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED COMPLETE SHEET OF 100 OF THE 1938 $1.00 PRESIDENTIAL ISSUE WITH "USIR" WATERMARK.

According to The Prexies by Roland E. Rustad, the printing of the $1.00 on "USIR" double-line watermarked paper intended for revenue stamps, occurred inadvertently, probably in 1950 or 1951. It marked the first time since 1916 that a U.S. postage stamp was issued on watermarked paper. The variety was first discovered in 1953 and the earliest documented use is May 9, 1951 (Image)

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FINE. A RARE COMPLETE PANE OF 100 OF THE 2-CENT JEFFERSON ON SILKOTE PAPER.

The Silkote papers went on sale in the Westbrook and Cumberland Mills Me. post offices on December 17, 1954. They were printed using a new type of pigmented paper developed by the S. D. Warren Co., in an attempt to speed up the printing process. It contains calcium carbonate and required less moisture when printing; it it was hoped this would improve perforating. In this respect it is similar to the earlier Bluish papers.

They were released at the post offices with no notification, but several were purchased by employees of the S. D. Warren Co.; perhaps seven or eight panes were known and several have been broken.

Accompanied by May 3, 1999 Linn's Stamp News article describing the discovery of this pane, as well as several other research documents. Scott Retail as plate block and singles. (Image)

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VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE FIRST DAY COVER OF THE 2-CENT JEFFERSON ON SILKOTE PAPER. ONLY THREE ARE KNOWN. ONE OF THE RAREST 20TH CENTURY FIRST DAY COVERS.

The Silkote papers went on sale in the Westbrook and Cumberland Mills Me. post offices on December 17, 1954. They were printed using a new type of pigmented paper developed by the S. D. Warren Co., in an attempt to speed up the printing process. It contains calcium carbonate and required less moisture when printing; it it was hoped this would improve perforating. In this respect it is similar to the earlier Bluish papers.

They were released at the post offices with no notification, but several were purchased by employees of the S. D. Warren Co. Only three First Day covers are known, including one with a block of four and two with pairs, all of which are on S. D. Warren Co. corner cards.

Ex Lawrence. With 1997 A.P.S. certificate. (Image)

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