Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. Sale

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United States Stamps and Covers continued...

1901 Pan-American Issue (Scott 294-299)

Lot

Sym.

Lot Description

1c, 2c Pan-American (294-295). Mint N.H. imprint and plate no. blocks of six, 1c top, 2c bottom, 1c narrow natural gum skip on top stamps, 2c natural short gum at bottom right, Fine-Very Fine (Image)

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$ 950.00

SOLD for $275.00
Will close during Public Auction

2c Pan-American (295). Mint N.H. block of sixteen, well-centered (especially some of the stamps in the middle), bright color, Very Fine, Scott Retail as singles (Image)

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$ 640.00

SOLD for $350.00
Will close during Public Auction

2c Pan-American (295). Bottom imprint, plate nos. 1122/1118 and arrow block of ten, Mint N.H. except between Pos. 4 and 5 where few small perf separations reattached, rich colors, unusual red ink in selvage in color of the vignette and which is probably the pressman's blurry fingerprint, unusually well-centered, Very Fine-Extremely Fine, the plate no. singles are especially nice, ex MLG (Image)

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$ 700.00

SOLD for $450.00
Will close during Public Auction

4c Pan-American (296). Bottom imprint and plate no. 1145 block of six, barest trace of hinge, rich colors, remarkably well-centered, usual few light natural gum creases, Extremely Fine, an outstanding plate block (Image)

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$ 2,100.00

SOLD for $500.00
Will close during Public Auction

4c Pan-American (296). Top imprint and plate no. 1145 block of six, lightly hinged, rich colors, diagonal crease affects four stamps, Very Fine appearance (Image)

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$ 2,250.00

SOLD for $285.00
Will close during Public Auction

8c Pan-American (298). Bottom imprint, plate nos. 1150/1143 and arrow block of ten, few h.r. slivers in selvage, two stamps light h.r., deep rich colors, choice centering, small nick in bottom margin at "T" marker is barely noticeable

EXTREMELY FINE PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF TEN OF THE 8-CENT PAN-AMERICAN ISSUE.

Bottom plate blocks are particularly desirable as they are the only positions to show both plate numbers. This issue is very scarce with such superb centering (Image)

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$ 7,000.00

SOLD for $1,800.00
Will close during Public Auction

10c Pan-American (299). Mint N.H. top imprint and plate no. 1151 block of six, deep rich colors, selvage slightly reduced, pos. 3 tiny spot of gum disturbance

FINE AND SCARCE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 10-CENT PAN-AMERICAN ISSUE.

The 10c is especially difficult to find in sound, Mint N.H. condition. Scott Retail as Mint N.H. (Image)

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$ 9,000.00

SOLD for $3,500.00
Will close during Public Auction

1c Pan-American, Center Inverted (294a). Rich color and strong impressions, choice centering with wide margins, two short perfs at left

VERY FINE CENTERING AND AN ATTRACTIVE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE ONE-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT.

With 1944 A.P.S. and 2014 P.S.E. certificates (OGh, F 70; SMQ $8,000.00) (Image)

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$ 12,500.00

SOLD for $5,750.00
Will close during Public Auction

4c Pan-American, Center Inverted, Specimen Overprint (296aS). Clear strike of "Specimen" handstamp reading down at left, with plate no. 1145 and portion of plate letter imprint in black at bottom (from the left pane), h.r. in selvage only, warm rich color, completely sound

FINE. ONE OF FOUR RECORDED PLATE NUMBER AND PLATE LETTER SINGLES OF THE 4-CENT PAN-AMERICAN INVERT. ONLY THIS EXAMPLE HAS THE "SPECIMEN" OVERPRINT.

The production and distribution of the 4c Pan-American Invert occurred under extraordinary circumstances. After the 1c and 2c Inverts were discovered, rumors of a 4c Invert caused the Post Office Department to order a special printing of 4c Inverts to retain as specimens. It was reported that two sheets of 200 were printed, for a total of 400 stamps; however, as we shall describe further on, at least four plate impressions were made. It appears that only the lower halves of the sheets were finished with gum and perforations.

If the reported quantities are correct, 203 4c Inverts were released with or without the small "Specimen" overprint. Some examples, both with and without the overprint, were given away by Third Asst. Postmaster General Edwin C. Madden. When postal authorities learned of the practice, they destroyed 194 copies and put one pane of 100 into the official archives. At a later date, 97 of these were traded for rarities missing from the archives.

We have been studying this fascinating Invert "Special Printing" for several years and have recorded imprint and plate number examples of the 4c Pan-American Invert from the bottoms of four different sheets of 100, each comprising left and right panes of 50 (six of the eight panes are represented by at least one bottom-margin position). The sequence of vignette plate letters in the bottom selvage, which were normally printed in the top selvage, can be used to identify Left or Right pane positions. These letters were applied each time the vignette plate was used, and the 4c Invert has the longest sequence of letters we can find on any 4c Pan-American, presumably because the plate was used for the last time to make the Invert "Special Printing" after the regular stamps were printed. There are at least 48 separate entries of the two or three-letter initials on the 4c Invert vignette plate.

For the purpose of identification, we will refer to these four sheets as S1, S2, S3 and S4 (Left/Right for each). From S1 Left we record three singles with plate letters and the unique plate block of four with the imprint and plate number. None of the S1 Left imprint stamps have a "Specimen" overprint. From S1 Right we record the imprint and plate number strip of four sold in the Cunliffe auction by Spink-Shreves. It, too, does not have a "Specimen" overprint. From S2 we record only one imprint and plate number single, from the Right pane and without overprint, ex Odeneal (Siegel Sale 941, lot 1207). From S3 we record an imprint and plate number single from the Left pane (Siegel Sale 745, lot 717) and another from the Right pane, neither with overprint. Finally, from S4 we record the imprint and plate number single offered here, from the Left pane and with "Specimen" overprint, ex Green and Cunliffe.

Ex Colonel Green and Cunliffe. With 1996 P.F. and 2009 P.S.E. certificates. (Image)

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$ 11,500.00

SOLD for $17,500.00
Will close during Public Auction