Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. Sale

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A European Connoisseur's Collection of U.S. Classic Issues continued...

1861-66 Issue, cont. (Scott 68-70c)

Lot

Sym.

Lot Description

2209

10c Yellow Green (68). Enormous margins including right straddle-pane margin, beautiful deep shade, red New York circular datestamp, Extremely Fine (Image)

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$ 70.00

SOLD for $300.00
Will close during Public Auction

2210

10c Yellow Green (68). Choice centering, intense shade with contrasting red New York circular datestamp, Extremely Fine, a beautiful stamp (Image)

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$ 70.00

SOLD for $750.00
Will close during Public Auction

2211

10c Yellow Green (68, 89). Two single No. 68 and horizontal strip of four, all with red cancels, No. 89 E Grill with odd dry print at right, No. 68 singles have tiny faults, otherwise Fine-Very Fine group (Image)

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$ 740.00

SOLD for $425.00
Will close during Public Auction

2212

10c Yellow Green (68). Deep shade, tied by Outline Star in Circle with Dots fancy cancel, "Union Springs N.Y. Jul. 14" (1862) circular datestamp on cover to Bowmanville, Canada, receiving backstamp, reduced at left, otherwise Very Fine, scarce use of this Civil War patriotic cancel on a 10c 1861 Issue (Image)

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E. $ 300-400

SOLD for $325.00
Will close during Public Auction

2213

5c Brown, 10c Yellow Green (68). Bright fresh colors, used on blue folded letter from New Orleans to Bordeaux, France, clear strike of "New Orleans La. Jun. 24" (1866) circular datestamp, but the stamps were left uncancelled at the New Orleans post office, red "New York Paid 12 Jun. 30" credit datestamp, light but readable "ETATS-UNIS/PAQ. FR. H NO. 3/30 JUIN 66" octagonal datestamp applied on board the Compagnie General Transatlantique (CGT) steamer in New York harbor, red "PD" in frame handstamp, at the same time the stamps were cancelled with French maritime "Ancre" diamond of dots, French transit and receiving backstamps, neatly docketed, Extremely Fine, an extremely rare use of the Anchor in Diamond maritime cancel, apparently the stamps were never cancelled in New Orleans, which lends support to our theory that cancelling stamps and postmarking letters with dated markings were two separate operations in larger post offices, ex Waterhouse (Image)

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E. $ 1,000-1,500

SOLD for $1,300.00
Will close during Public Auction

2214

12c Black (69). Three on two pieces of buff covers, one with single tied by red "Trenton N.J. Jun. 10, 1864" double-circle datestamp, other two tied by blue target cancels, Matching "Dubuque Ioa. 1 Jul." double-circle datestamp, Very Fine, colorful (Image)

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E. $ 150-200

SOLD for $350.00
Will close during Public Auction

2215

3c Deep Rose, 5c Red Brown, 10c Green, 12c Black (65, 68, 69, 75). Two blue folded covers to France, 15c treaty rate paid by combination of 3c and 12c on one (3c wonderful shade), tied by red grid cancels, 5c and 10c on other (5c s.e.), each with New York 12c credit datestamp and red French transits, Very Fine pair of 1861 Issue covers (Image)

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E. $ 200-300

SOLD for $275.00
Will close during Public Auction

2216

12c-30c 1861 Issues (69, 70, 71). 12c one unused (no gum), two used with blue cancels, 24c four including one on a front with "Paid" cancel and another with red grid, 30c two with red cancels, possible tiny flaw or two, still Very Fine group (Image)

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$ 2,650.00

SOLD for $700.00
Will close during Public Auction

2217

24c Red Lilac (70). Two, well-centered, each stamp has extraordinarily rich color with distinctive purplish hue, cancelled by red grids, matching "N. York Br. Packet 38 Jan. 30" (1863) credit datestamp on bright fresh cover to Manchester, England, sender's Cunard steamship directive "Per Africa", receiving backstamp, Extremely Fine, having been sheltered from light and the elements for half a century, the stamps on the cover retain the original true early Red Lilac color that is so rarely seen among today's overexposed examples (Image)

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E. $ 750-1,000

SOLD for $5,250.00
Will close during Public Auction

2218

24c Brown Lilac (70a). Horizontal block of six, unused (no gum), choice centering, beautiful true 1862 shade, sharp impression on bright fresh paper

VERY FINE. THE 1861-62 24-CENT RED AND BROWN LILAC SHADES ARE EXTREMELY RARE AS UNUSED BLOCKS. THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND FINEST 24-CENT BROWN LILAC UNUSED BLOCKS EXTANT.

After spending hours searching on-line records and our extensive auction catalogue library, we were only able to confirm the existence of two or possibly three unused blocks of Scott 70 Red Lilac and Scott 70a Brown Lilac, including this block. One of the other two is a block of four (PFC 367395, Siegel Sale 833, lot 382). There is also a vertical block of six with part imprint and plate number in the William H. Gross collection, identified as Scott 70a, but that block was previously described as Scott 78 and the shape of the perforations appear to be characteristic of the later printing on thick paper, making identification uncertain.

We would have lost a bet if asked about the rarity of unused blocks of Scott 70 or 70a before trying to answer the question of how many exist. The collections that are famous for blocks -- Caspary, Lilly, Ishikawa and Klein -- did not have any Red Lilac or Brown Lilac unused blocks. Crocker had one described as an "intermediate shade" which was offered years later as a 24c Lilac, Scott 78. Hind had a "badly centered" original-gum block of six of a shade called Lilac, which was almost certainly Scott 78. Worthington had a block of six described as "Red Lilac (70), darker shade...o.g., very fine," but the darker shade was almost certainly the later Scott 78 color. Sinkler had a block described as "Red Lilac, block, o.g., fine," which is off center and very pale in the catalogue photo, so it is impossible to say if it is truly the Red Lilac, Scott 70 (it probably is not). Colson, in his booklet on the Duckwall collection, describes a well-centered, original-gum block of the Red Lilac, but that was in 1929, and we simply cannot verify his identification, let alone if the block still survives intact. In fact, the absence of blocks in the more modern collections (Lilly, Klein, Ishikawa) is a strong indicator of rarity -- if more blocks existed, these collectors would have had one.

Why did we start with the mistaken impression that this block was one of several? Because the large number of 24c Lilac and Gray Lilac (Scott 78) unused multiples tricks the memory. The rarity of the earlier printings in Red Lilac and Brownish Lilac (on thinner paper) should not be confused with the later printings in the common shade on thicker paper.

We have tried (and failed) to trace the provenance of the block of six offered here. It most likely has been in the European Connoisseur's collection for more than a half-century. The absence of gum may have something to do with the block's extraordinary freshness and true color, as well as the fact that it has been sheltered from frequent exposure to light and other color-degrading factors.

The Scott Catalogue value for an original-gum block of No. 70 is $15,000.00, but we have no idea what the editors used as a basis for that value. For Scott 70a, of which one block is recorded (last sold in 2000), the value is $17,000.00 versus $13,000.00 for four original-gum singles. The value of Scott 70a in unused (no gum) condition is $1,250.00, so the total is $7,500.00 for the six stamps in this block. Our estimate is based on that value, but a collector who acquires this important philatelic artifact for anything approaching our estimate should open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate. (Image)

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E. $ 5,000-7,500

SOLD for $3,750.00
Will close during Public Auction

2219

24c Brown Lilac (70a). Choice centering, rich color, tied by blue "Belvidere Ill. Aug. 11" circular datestamp on yellow cover to Liverpool, England, and forwarded to Paris, France, with Great Britain 1856-58 2p Deep Blue, 6p Lilac (27, 29), 2p Plate 9, tied by "Liverpool AU 30 62" duplex datestamp and "466" grid cancel, red "3/CENTS" credit handstamp partly covered by Great Britain stamps, red "PD" in circle handstamp, "Brown, Shipley & Co. Liverpool" forwarding agent's double-oval handstamp, Liverpool (Aug. 29) and London (Sep. 1) backstamps, Calais arrival datestamp (Sep. 1) and Paris receiving backstamp, small mended corner nick at bottom right, Very Fine, an exceptionally beautiful and colorful combination of United States and British stamps for forwarding, ex Moody, Spring and Jessup (Image)

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E. $ 1,500-2,000

SOLD for $4,000.00
Will close during Public Auction