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 This magnificent original-gum block of 21 is the largest
recorded unused multiple of the 30¢ 1860 IssueDESCRIPTION 30¢ Orange (38), block of 21 (7 by 3), original gum, bright color and exceptionally fresh PROVENANCE This block and large block of 90¢ 1860, along
with other lower denomination blocks, sold to Caspary privately (Ashbrook index card note) Alfred H. Caspary, H. R. Harmer sale, 1/16-18/1956, lot 809, to Weill Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., Siegel Auction Galleries, 2/7-8/1968, Sale 327, lot 18,
to Weill (for Bechtel) Stephen D. Bechtel, Sr. (collection sold privately in 1993; block sold privately to Zoellner) Robert Zoellner, Siegel Auction Galleries, 10/8-10/1998, Sale 804, lot 148, to William H. Gross CENSUS, LITERATURE
AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES ANPHILEX 1996 Invited Exhibits (Zoellner) CONDITION NOTES Fine overall; some minor reinforcements, small tears in a few bottom-row stamps and fourth stamp at top nicked from separation SCOTT
CATALOGUE VALUE (2019) $60,900.00 as three blocks, four pairs and single HISTORY AND COMMENTARY The Switch from Black to Orange Official correspondence between the Post Office and Toppan Carpenter reveals that
the decision to print 30¢ stamps in orange followed a printing in black on stamp paper. The existence of imperforate 30¢ Black stamps created controversy years ago, when some philatelists argued that the black stamps were a legitimate issue. A brief
history of the early approval and production process is worth telling. Toppan Carpenter submitted proofs of the 30¢ stamp to Third Assistant Postmaster Zevely in June 1860, suggesting printing the stamps in black to highlight the engraving. The
design was approved on June 27, 1860. On July 2 Toppan Carpenter sent Zevely plate proof sheets of the 12¢ and 30¢ in black to show that the design differences were sufficient to tell the stamps apart, even if both were black, and Zevely replied with
approval for the 30¢ to be printed in black. On July 11 Toppan Carpenter wrote again to Zevely, giving their opinion that it would be difficult to adequately cancel the 30¢ stamps if they were black, and suggesting that the color should be switched
to "buff." Zevely approved "orange buff" color, and Toppan Carpenter promised to deliver 280,000 stamps by July 31. As with all of the stamps in circulation when the Civil War broke out, the 30¢ was demonetized in the fall of 1861. (Image) Search for comparables at
SiegelAuctions.com
Get Market Data for [United States 38] |
E. $ 20,000-30,000
SOLD for $27,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
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 A superb quality original-gum block of nine of the 90¢
1860 Issue--one of three recorded blocks of nine, which are the largest known multiplesDESCRIPTION 90¢ Blue (39), block of nine, original gum, lightly hinged, deep rich color and proof-like impression, bright fresh paper,
exceptionally choice centering and well-balanced margins throughout PROVENANCE Alfred H. Caspary, H. R. Harmer sale, 1/16-18/1956, lot 816, to Weill (for Phillips) Benjamin D. Phillips (Phillips collection sold privately to
Weills, 1968) Siegel Auction Galleries, 1969 Rarities of the World, 3/25/1969, Sale 350, lot 59 Louis Grunin, H. R. Harmer sale, 12/14-15/1976, lot 2667 Peter G. DuPuy, Siegel Auction Galleries, 12/8/2010, Sale 1000, lot 1026, to
William H. Gross CERTIFICATION The Philatelic Foundation (1987) CONDITION NOTES Extremely Fine; trivial natural gum bend in left vertical row, a few perf separations reinforced with tiny hinge slivers (certificate
simply reads "genuine, previously hinged") SCOTT CATALOGUE VALUE (2019) $90,500.00 as block of four, pairs and single HISTORY AND COMMENTARY Young General Washington as Portrayed by Trumbull In May 1860
President Buchanan's postmaster general, Joseph Holt, issued a new order requiring prepayment by stamps on transient printed matter, and on all foreign and domestic mail, except letters permitted to be sent unpaid by international postal conventions.
Holt's order sparked public demand for stamps, especially in denominations greater than 12¢, the top value in circulation at the beginning of 1860. In response to a letter received from the Philadelphia postmaster, the new Third Assistant Postmaster
General, Alexander N. Zevely, contacted Toppan Carpenter about producing new high-denomination stamps. The 90¢ stamp was the first denomination of its kind and the highest issued in the United States from 1847 to 1893, when the dollar-value
Columbian stamps were issued. The reason for a 90¢ stamp--30 times the 3¢ domestic rate--is explained in a letter from Zevely, who thought it was "necessary to have a stamp in the denomination of Ninety Cents--not only to suit that particular rate of
postage, but to prepay packages, to the amount, sometimes, of several dollars." Toppan Carpenter and Zevely engaged in some back and forth discussion about the design. The printers based their engraving, a three-quarter portrait of a youthful
Washington in military uniform, on one of several similar full-length portraits painted by John Trumbull. Zevely did not like it, but soon acquiesced and approved the novel design and chose the color blue, which was described as "the handsomest of
them all." Philatelists agree. The 90¢ stamps issued in August 1860 were one of the Civil War's early casualties. In August 1861 the federal government demonetized all previous issues of postage stamps and replaced them with new stamps that
would be distributed only to post offices in loyal states. The purpose of demonetization was to prevent the South from using stamps as a medium of exchange. Demand for the high-denomination stamps in 1860 was limited, and the Civil War demonetization
policy cut their lives short. Unused examples would be great rarities today if not for a cache of sheets discovered in Washington, D.C., which had been found in Southern post offices after the war and returned to the Post Office. These sheets were
sold and traded to stamp dealers, and many of the unused 1859-60 issues come from this source. There are three recorded original-gum blocks of nine of the 90¢ 1860 Issue, which survive as the largest recorded multiples following the division of
the Caspary block of 21. The Caspary block (lot 817 in the 1956 sale) was still intact when it was part of the Benjamin D. Phillips collection, which the Weills acquired in 1968. Sometime after then, this block was divided into a block of nine from
the center, two blocks of four from the bottom left and bottom right corners, and singles or pairs from the corners. The block of nine offered here was also in the 1956 Caspary sale (lot 816), where it was acquired by the Weills for Phillips. It
appeared in the Siegel 1969 Rarities of the World sale. In March 1987 the block surfaced in Switzerland at a Corinphila auction, where it was acquired by Peter G. DuPuy. It was sold by the DuPuy estate in Siegel Sale 1000 (lot 1026) to Mr. Gross. The
third recorded block of nine was also offered on behalf of the DuPuy estate in our Sale 1000 (lot 1027). (Image) Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com
Get Market Data for [United States 39] |
E. $ 50,000-75,000
SOLD for $50,000.00
Will close during Public Auction |
