Three Treasures - Collected by Stuart Weitzman
June 8, 2021
Sotheby's New York is pleased to present Three Treasures - Collected by
Stuart Weitzman, a dedicated live auction of three legendary treasures from
the personal collection of the renowned fashion designer and collector. On
8 June 2021 Sotheby's will offer the fabled and elusive 1933 Double Eagle
Coin, which set a world record when it last sold at auction in 2002, and
the only example that is legally sanctioned by the United States government
for private ownership; the sole-surviving example of the British Guiana
One-Cent Magenta, the most famous and valuable stamp in the world; and The
Inverted Jenny Plate Block, the most well-known and sought-after American
stamp rarity. These three treasures may be small in size, but are of
colossal importance; each historic and singular in its own way.
Exhibit Information: New York Friday, 04 Jun 21 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
Saturday, 05 Jun 21 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
Sunday, 06 Jun 21 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Monday, 07 Jun 21 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
The 1933 Double Eagle Gem Brilliant Uncirculated - PCGS MS 65 CAC
Creamy, orange-yellow surfaces with deeply frosted devices and proof-like bloom in the obverse field between the rays. A small semicircular lint mark below Liberty's left arm, a tiny nick in the fifth ray on the left, a 'D'-shaped mark on Liberty's
left knee, and minuscule copper-spots to the right of Liberty's neck and to the right of the T in LIBERTY are identifiers. The reverse exhibits full cartwheel effect.
Some obverse doubling of the stars to the left, the upper part of the torch,
and '33' in the date. The reverse exhibits a diagnostic die scratch "traversing the tip of the beak of the eagle" which is also present on the two examples in the Smithsonian.1
Sold with the unique "Certificate of Monetization" signed by Mint
Director Henrietta Holsman Fore on July 30, 2002. Especially prepared by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to accompany this coin.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE GRADE: The 1933 Double Eagle is sold
without having been encapsulated by a third-party grading service. However, on Monday, June 10, 2002, the 1933 Double Eagle was examined by Professional Coin Grading Service [PCGS] grading experts, including PCGS founders David Hall and John
Dannreuther, at Sotheby's office in Beverly Hills. As related by David Hall on the PCGS website:2 "Before the Steven Fenton coin was sold by Sotheby's, it was displayed in Beverly Hills. PCGS made arrangements to have the PCGS graders view the coin.
Sotheby's was very accommodating and allowed us to view the coin out of the holder in good lighting conditions. The coin has the creamy luster you see on late date Saints and though there are a few minor marks, it would grade a solid MS 65 at PCGS."
Most recently, on March 18, 2021, Brett Charville, President of PCGS, re-examined the coin at Sotheby's New York, and certified the coin as MS 65 (PCGS certification number: 42095232); and on April 7, 2021, John Albanese of Certified Acceptance
Corporation (CAC) verified the 1933 double eagle as meeting its standard for strict quality within its grade-and assigned it a 'green bean'.
PROVENANCE:
United States Mint, Philadelphia, 1933;
via George McCann (February [?] 1937);
Israel Switt, "at about the beginning of February 1937";
James G. Macallister, July 1, 1937 ($500);
B.L. Taylor, July 1937;
Max Berenstein;
R.H. Smith;
Ira S. Reed, 1941;
J.F.
Bell, "sometime in 1942";
B. Max Mehl (possibly via Ira Reed), February 23, 1944;
King Farouk of Egypt, February 23, 1944 ($1,575);
Republic of Egypt, July 23, 1952;
The Palace Collections of Egypt, Sotheby's Cairo, February 24,
1954, lot 185 (part, withdrawn);
Anonymous Egyptian (via a Cairene jeweler);
Stephen Fenton (via André de Clermont), October 3, 1995 ($210,000);
United States Mint (January 25, 2001);
Sotheby's/Stack's, July 30, 2002
($7,590,020);
Stuart Weitzman
EXHIBITED:
Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Expo, Long Beach, California, June 6-9, 2002;
Federal Reserve Bank of New York/American Numismatic Society,
New York City, June 22 - July 3, 2002;
American Numismatic Society at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, November 2002 - August 2013;
The New-York Historical Society, New York City, August 2013 - February 2021
RARITY: EFFECTIVELY UNIQUE: Two examples, transferred from the Philadelphia Mint were receipted by the Smithsonian Institution (October 11, 19344). Eleven others, property of the
United States Government and in the possession of the United States Mint as a result of prolonged litigation (see below) were never issued and are officially considered chattel. As stated by the United States Mint in the July 30, 2002, auction
catalogue for this 1933 Double Eagle:
"This is the only 1933 Double Eagle monetized and issued by the United States Mint. It is also the only example that the United States Government has ever authorized, or ever intends to authorize, for
private ownership.
". . . Any additional examples that may exist are, similarly, property of the United States Government, illegal to own, and subject to seizure."
THE MOST FAMOUS COIN IN THE WORLD: AMERICA'S
LAST GOLD COIN STRUCK FOR CIRCULATION WITH A STORIED PAST: THE ONLY 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE THAT CAN BE LEGALLY OWNED BY AN INDIVIDUAL
The Inverted Jenny Plate Block 24-Cent Carmine Rose & Blue, Center Inverted (Scott no. C3a)
The Unique Plate Number Block of Four, positions 87,88,97,98 with bottom sheet margin and blue plate number 8493. Pristine original gum that has been very lightly hinged and the normal natural gum creases associated with this issue. A barely
perceptible inclusion at top right does not detract. Superbly centered and with fresh and vibrant colors. Extremely Fine, the greatest showpiece and considered by many to be the most valuable item in United States Philately.
51 x 50 mm
PROVENANCE:
William T. Robey (1918, the purchaser of the original sheet);
Eugene Klein (1918, who numbered each stamp lightly in pencil);
Colonel Edward H. R. Green (1918-1944);
Amos R.
Eno (1944-1954);
Benjamin D. Phillips (1954-1968);
The Weill Brothers (1954-1989, the block was purportedly sold and repurchased at least once during this period);
Hambros Bank (1989);
Kerby Confer (1989-2005);
William H. Gross
(2005);
Donald Sundman, Mystic Stamp Company (2005-2014);
Stuart Weitzman (2014-2021)
EXHIBITIONS:
1971 New York, Anphilex November 26-December 1
1976 Philadelphia, Interphil May
29-June 6
2014-2021 New York Historical Society
EXPERTIZATION:
1989 Philatelic Foundation Certificate number 214622
2005 Philatelic Foundation Certificate number 431538
Both
certificates state "Genuine, Previously hinged".
THE MOST FAMOUS AND SOUGHT-AFTER AMERICAN STAMP RARITY.
The British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta The Unique British Guiana 1856 One-Cent Black on Magenta Surface-Colored Paper (Stanley Gibbons no.23, Scott no.13)
Initialed EDW, cut
octagonally clear of design, April 4 1856 DEMERARA circular datestamp.
29 x 26 mm
EXPERTIZATION:
Royal Philatelic Society, London certificates:
Number 18796, October 17th 1935
signed Thomas William Hall
Number 217796, March 17th 2014 signed Christopher Harman
The 2014 certificate contains the observation "surface rubbing reduced by over-painting at some time in the past - possibly while the stamp resided in the
Ferrari collection". It should be noted that the expert committee did not have the benefit of spectrographic analysis when arriving at this opinion.
PROVENANCE:
Andrew Hunter (1856-1873,
original recipient of the mailed stamp);
Louis Vernon Vaughan (1873);
Neil Ross McKinnon (1873-1878);
Thomas Ridpath (1878);
Philipp de la Rénotiére Von Ferrary (1878-1920, purple trefoil on reverse);
Government of
France (1920-1922);
Arthur M. Hind (1922-1932, cloverleaf "AH" within seventeen-point handstamp on reverse);
Ann Hind Scala (1932-1940);
Frederick Trouton Small (1940-1970, comet handstamp on reverse; also initialed in pencil "FK" by his
agent Finbar Kenny);
Irwin Weinberg and Associates (1970-1980, pencil "IW" on reverse);
John Eluthiere Du Pont (1980-2014, pencil "JEdP" on reverse);
Stuart Weitzman (2014-2021, pencil drawn stiletto and initialed SW on reverse).
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
1923 London International Stamp Exhibition May 14-28
1926 New York International Stamp Exhibition October 16-23
1929 Le Havre, France, Exposition Philatélique
Internationale May 18-26
1930 Boston, American Philatelic Society National Exhibition August 11-16
1940 New York World's Fair, British Pavilion May
1947 New York Centenary International Philatelic Exhibition May 17-25
1956 New York
Fifth International Philatelic Exhibition April 28-May 6
1963 Melbourne International Philatelic Exhibition October 6-12
1965 London Stanley Gibbons Catalogue Centenary February 17-20
1970-1980 Irwin Weinberg toured the stamp extensively
including trips to England, Japan, Switzerland, France, India, Czechoslovakia, Germany, SPain, and Canada
1986 Chicago Ameripex International Stamp Exhibition May 22-June 1 (Part of the British Guiana exhibit by "Rae Mader," which won the Grand
Prix)
1987 Perth, Australia, CUP-PEX National Philatelic Exhibition January 31-February 8
2016 New York World Stamp Show May 28-June 4
2015-2020 Washington DC, Smithsonian National Postal Museum
The 1933 Double Eagle
The Inverted Jenny Plate Block
The British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta The Unique British Guiana 1856 One-Cent Black on Magenta Surface-Colored Paper (Stanley Gibbons no.23, Scott no.13)