2019 Rarities of the World continued...

FINE. ONE OF ONLY FOUR RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THE 10-CENT 1922 PERF 10 AT TOP OR BOTTOM VARIETY. THIS IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL OF THE PERF 10 ON ONE SIDE VARIETIES.

Our census records of Scott 562c, available at https://www.siegelauctions.com/census/US/Scott/562c , contain only four unused examples. One was offered in our 1990 Rarities sale and described as "Mint." This example was offered in our 2010 Rarities sale and is without gum. A third was offered in our sale of the "Sirron" Collection. It has original gum and a perf indentation. Finally, one with original gum was offered in our 2015 Rarities sale.

Census No. 562c-UNC-02. With 2007 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as original gum (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM STAMP AND IMMACULATE COVER. THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF SCOTT 594 EXTANT ON COVER AND AMONG THE FOUR BEST-CENTERED OF ALL KNOWN COPIES OF THIS RARITY. AN IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY COVER.

The 1c Green, Scott 594, is waste from a horizontal rotary printing used to make coils. At the beginning or end of a coil-stamp print run from the 170-subject rotary plates, some leading or trailing paper was produced that was too short for rolling into 500-stamp rolls. In 1919 the Bureau devised a plan to salvage this waste by perforating and cutting the sheets into panes. They were put through the 11-gauge flat-plate perforator in use at the time, giving the sheets full perforations on all sides. In 1923 coil waste from the new 1c and 2c rotary production was turned into stamps later classified as Scott 578-579 and 594-595. These were the last of the coil-waste issues. The existence of Scott 594 was not reported until four months after the final sheets were delivered, and the 1c Rotary Perf 11 was soon recognized as one of the rarest United States stamps.

There are today fewer than 100 confirmed examples of Scott 594. The first major find of this stamp was made in 1934 by Ernest E. Fairbanks, who retrieved nine pairs (18 stamps, one or two damaged) on nine separate covers that were returned by the post office years earlier from a bulk mailing. All were postmarked at New York City on October 4, 1924. The nine Fairbanks covers were cut down into pieces, and today there are perhaps five or six of these pieces intact. According to a survey of the Levi records and The Philatelic Foundation patient records, there are four Scott 594 cards or covers. Two are postcards, each bearing a single stamp, cancelled at New York City on March 25 and October 16(?), 1924. A pair on cover (an envelope) is cancelled at New York City on October 13, 1924. The second cover (offered here) is a circular-rate unsealed envelope cancelled at New York City in 1924, but the machine postmark is dateless, as normal for third-class mail.

The stamp on this cover ranks among the four best-centered copies of Scott 594 that exist in any condition. It is the finest of the four recorded uses and the only single franking on an envelope. The perfs cut into the top of the pair on the other known envelope.

Census No. 594-COV-01 (available at https://siegelauctions.com/census/US/Scott/594 ). Ex Ewing and Dr. Graves ("Argentum"). Signed by Gordon Usticke (Stanley Gibbons backstamp). With 1988 P.F. certificate (Image)

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FRESH AND VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11, WHICH IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL 20TH CENTURY ISSUES. ONLY 50 ARE RECORDED.

Warren G. Harding, the 29th President, died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, during a cross-country "Voyage of Understanding". Several people suggested a Harding memorial stamp, printed in black, and it was rushed into production. The first flat plate printing (Scott 610) was issued on September 1, 1923, in his home town of Marion, Ohio, followed less than two weeks later by the normal Perf 10 rotary press printing (Scott 612) on September 12.

The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc. Gary Griffith presents his hypothesis in United States Stamps 1922-26 that rotary-printed sheets of 400 were first reduced to panes of 100 and then fed through the 11-gauge perforating machine normally used for flat plate sheets. This method explains the existence of a straight-edge on Scott 613. Production quality and quantity was very low, due to the rotary press stamps' natural tendency to curl, and the use of the flat plate perforator for the slightly different-sized rotary printing.

Our census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11, available at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/613 , records 45 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all), one used pair and the used strip of three, for a total of 50 stamps. Of the singles, 22 are confirmed as sound, but of these only six rate a grade of Very Fine or Extremely Fine. The example offered here, with balanced margins and in sound condition, is highly desirable.

Census No. 613-CAN-02. From our 1980 Rarities sale. With 1995 and 2008 P.F. certificates (Image)

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FRESH AND FINE EXAMPLE OF THE 2-CENT HARDING ROTARY PERF 11, WHICH IS ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL 20TH CENTURY ISSUES. ONLY 50 ARE RECORDED.

Warren G. Harding, the 29th President, died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, during a cross-country "Voyage of Understanding". Several people suggested a Harding memorial stamp, printed in black, and it was rushed into production. The first flat plate printing (Scott 610) was issued on September 1, 1923, in his home town of Marion, Ohio, followed less than two weeks later by the normal Perf 10 rotary press printing (Scott 612) on September 12.

The 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11 stamp was discovered in 1938 by Leslie Lewis of the New York firm, Stanley Gibbons Inc. Gary Griffith presents his hypothesis in United States Stamps 1922-26 that rotary-printed sheets of 400 were first reduced to panes of 100 and then fed through the 11-gauge perforating machine normally used for flat plate sheets. This method explains the existence of a straight-edge on Scott 613. Production quality and quantity was very low, due to the rotary press stamps' natural tendency to curl, and the use of the flat plate perforator for the slightly different-sized rotary printing.

Our census of the 2c Harding Rotary Perf 11, available at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/613 , records 45 used singles (one faintly cancelled, if at all), one used pair and the used strip of three, for a total of 50 stamps. Of the singles, 23 are confirmed as sound, but of these only six rate a grade of Very Fine or Extremely Fine. The example offered here, with the sheet margin at left and in sound condition, is highly desirable. This is the only recorded Scott 613 with any type of marginal marking.

Census No. 613-CAN-22. With 1958 P.F. certificate issued to Robert A. Siegel (Image)

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VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE IMPERFORATE BETWEEN ERROR PAIR OF THE 4-CENT LINCOLN LIBERTY ISSUE.

This is the only example of this error located with Power Search. A booklet pane of six imperforate horizontally was offered as part of the Beutel collection and realized $8,500 hammer in our Sale 991 (lot 1323).

From our 1968 Rarities sale. With 2019 P.F. certificate (Image)

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A SPECTACULAR COLOR OMITTED ERROR OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY PAN-AMERICAN INVERTS SOUVENIR SHEET. THIS "ERROR OF AN ERROR" IS A NEW DISCOVERY AND MAY BE UNIQUE -- OFFERED TO THE MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

This exceptional error is one of the most visually striking in existence. The Green, Carmine and Deep Red Brown intaglio frames are present but are printed entirely outside the perforations of the three invert stamps (originally Scott Nos. 294a, 295a and 296a). This was discovered by a collector who purchased ten of the commemorative panes when they were issued in 2001 and put them away. When he recently looked at his stock he discovered he had a single pane with the errors. This is the first report of an error on this issue, and given the fact that it has been around for 18 years, the chances of finding another would appear to be slim. The huge popularity of the 1901 Pan-American inverts makes this "error of an error" pane especially desirable.

Featured on the front page of Linn's Stamp News (May 13, 2019, article accompanies). With 2019 A.P.S. certificate. This will be listed in the 2020 Scott Specialized Catalogue (Image)

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