Siegel Sale 1000 continued...

VERY FINE AND FRESH. ONE OF THE FEW HIGH-VALUE 1857-61 STAMPS IN EXISTENCE WITH A GENUINE TRUE GREEN CANCELLATION.

Green cancellations were rarely used on the higher denominations of the 1857-61 Issue, because these stamps typically paid foreign-mail rates from large post offices where black, red or blue ink was used. Most 30c stamps that appear to have green cancels actually have blue cancels that blend with the orange color of the stamps to appear green. However, in this case, the cancel is a true intense green color. It is an exceedingly rare item, and we doubt that any finer exists.

With 2000 P.F. certificate (Image)

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FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE USED ON PIECE. ESPECIALLY DESIRABLE USED WITH THE 30-CENT.

With 1962 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail for the 90c used off-piece with a blue cancel (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE AND EXTREMELY RARE USED ON PIECE. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE WITH A FANCY CANCEL.

This 90c stamp on piece was the subject of an article by Thomas J. Alexander in Opinions II: Philatelic Expertizing - An Insider's View, published by the Philatelic Foundation in 1984. The cancel is known on a cover from New Haven Conn.

With 1983 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as used with no premium for the piece or use with the 3c stamp (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE LARGEST RECORDED PIECE BEARING THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE. AN EXCELLENT ALTERNATIVE TO A FULL COVER.

The highest value of the 1851-60 series -- the 90c stamp with a portrait of the youthful George Washington in military uniform -- was issued in 1860 (earliest recorded use is September 11). Its use was limited by the high denomination and the stamp's relatively short life, due to the demonetization of all United States stamps in August 1861, a measure designed to preclude the sale of stamps originating in rebel states' post offices.

There are just six recorded complete covers with the 90c 1860: 1) Sep. 11, 1860, to Augustine Heard & Co., Shanghai, single franking for double rate, ex Gibson, Hindes and Kapiloff, 2) Nov. 3, 1860, to Barcelona, Spain, ex Caspary, Rust and Kapiloff, 3) Nov. 9, 1860, to Augustine Heard & Co., Shanghai, ex Needham, Paliafito, Ishikawa, Myers, 4) Jan. 8, 1861, single used on legal-size cover from Cincinnati, ex Filstrup, Grunin, 5) Jul. 16, 1861, to Edwin Howland, Cape of Good Hope, used with 1c pair, 3c, 10c and 30c for four-times 33c rate, ex Jacobs, Newbury, Ishikawa, and 6) Jan. 26, 1861, to Mackellop Stewart & Co., Calcutta, India, used with 12c and 30c, ex Armitage.

The total postage present on this piece is $1.21. We believe an additional 1c stamp was originally on the cover, making a $1.22 quadruple 33c rate, probably to Edwin Howland at the Cape of Good Hope (see cover number 5 above).

Signed and dated by Ashbrook (Dec. 19, 1955). With 1956 P.F. certificate. Ex Krug, Haas and Rose. (Image)

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THE ONLY RECORDED INTACT USED BLOCK OF THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE. ONE OF THE RAREST AND MOST IMPORTANT CLASSIC MULTIPLES IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY

The highest value of the 1851-60 series -- the 90c stamp with a portrait of the youthful George Washington in military uniform -- was issued in 1860 (earliest recorded use is September 11). Its use was limited by the high denomination and the stamp's relatively short life, due to the demonetization of all United States stamps in August 1861, a measure designed to preclude the sale of stamps originating in rebel states' post offices.

There are just six recorded complete covers with the 90c 1860: 1) Sep. 11, 1860, to Augustine Heard & Co., Shanghai, single franking for double rate, ex Gibson, Hindes and Kapiloff, 2) Nov. 3, 1860, to Barcelona, Spain, ex Caspary, Rust and Kapiloff, 3) Nov. 9, 1860, to Augustine Heard & Co., Shanghai, ex Needham, Paliafito, Ishikawa, Myers, 4) Jan. 8, 1861, single used on legal-size cover from Cincinnati, ex Filstrup, Grunin, 5) Jul. 16, 1861, to Edwin Howland, Cape of Good Hope, used with 1c pair, 3c, 10c and 30c for four-times 33c rate, ex Jacobs, Newbury, Ishikawa, and 6) Jan. 26, 1861, to Mackellop Stewart & Co., Calcutta, India, used with 12c and 30c, ex Armitage.

The total postage represented by this block is $3.60. It probably paid eight times the 45c British Mail rate to Hong Kong via Marseilles.

Ex Krug, Neinken and Bechtel. With 1961 and 1993 P.F. certificates (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THE CELEBRATED RECONSTRUCTED USED BLOCK OF FIVE OF THE 90-CENT 1860 ISSUE.

The 90c stamp was issued in 1860, along with the 24c and 30c values, all of which were needed to prepay high international letter rates established by various postal treaties. The basic 24c and 30c rates to England, France and Germany created a large volume of mail franked with those values. However, the 90c saw much more limited use, partly due to the rates in effect, but more because of the American Civil War. When supplies of current postage stamps were declared invalid in the South and ultimately demonetized by the Federal government, the 90c had been in use for only one year. For this reason, genuinely cancelled copies and covers bearing the 90c are extremely rare.

This reconstructed block has a fascinating history. The top strip of three was originally in the collection of Henry C. Needham where it was marked as "used from Shanghai", but on what basis we do not know. The strip then passed into the collection of Senator Ernest Ackerman, and in 1922 it was purchased by Stanley Ashbrook. In the summer of 1940, the bottom pair was discovered in the stock of noted dealer Philip Ward, who had owned it for some years after acquiring it from George Walcott. Ashbrook purchased the pair from Ward, and rejoined the two multiples.

Based on the start of the wavy-line manuscript cancel partway through the stamps and the straight edge at right, Ashbrook did not think that any other stamps were part of this multiple as used on the original package. If no other postage were present, this would have paid ten-times the 45c rate by British Mail via Marseilles. The block on piece offered in lot 1036 has a Hong Kong backstamp, which corroborates Ashbrook's theory about this block.

The strip ex Needham and Ackerman. The pair ex Walcott. The reconstructed block ex Ashbrook, Neinken and Ishikawa. With 1971 and 1993 P.F. certificates. Accompanied by Ashbrook's original album page as well as his explanation of its history. Scott Retail as singles (Image)

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