The Jay Hoffman Collection of United States Stamps continued...

EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1857 ONE-CENT PERFORATED TYPE I.

Due to narrow spacing between subjects on Plate 12, it is especially difficult to find Type I stamps with margins showing the top and bottom parts of the design with the degree of completeness seen in this example.

Ex Scarsdale. With 1989 P.F. certificate as block of four. With 2003 P.F. certificate as a single. (Image)

FINE APPEARING ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE RARE TYPE IA.

The Type Ia stamps were produced from 18 positions in the bottom row of Plate 4. The most distinctive feature of Plate 4 is that the top row was entered with the designs complete at top (Type II), and the bottom row was entered with designs complete or nearly complete at bottom (Types Ia and Ic). This original-gum example is a great rarity.

Ex Ishikawa. With 1960 and 2008 P.F. certificates (Image)

VERY FINE. AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE PERFORATED ONE-CENT TYPE II. THIS IS ONLY THE THIRD MINT NEVER-HINGED COPY OF SCOTT 20 WE HAVE OFFERED IN FOURTEEN YEARS.

The other two Mint N.H. examples of Scott 20 were in the Silver Lake Collection (Sale 866) and the Odeneal Collection (Sale 941).

With 2004 P.F. certificate. Scott Retail as hinged (Image)

EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE PERFORATED 1857 ONE-CENT TYPE III STAMP. VERY FEW EXIST IN ANY TYPE OF ACCEPTABLE ORIGINAL-GUM CONDITION. THE INCREDIBLE CENTERING AND REMARKABLY FRESH ORIGINAL GUM MAKE THIS STAMP A PHENOMENAL CONDITION RARITY.

With 1991 and 2006 P.F. certificates (VF-XF 85, SMQ $27,000.00) (Image)

VERY FINE AND CHOICE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE PERFORATED ONE-CENT TYPE IIIA ISSUE.

With 1982 and 2006 P.F. certificates (Image)

VERY FINE AND CHOICE. A BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 3-CENT TYPE I 1857 ISSUE.

This stamp is especially desirable because the outer framelines, the defining element of Type I, are visible all around.

With 2005 P.F. certificate. (Image)

VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE SOUND ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1857 5-CENT BRICK RED SHADE -- IN OUR OPINION, THE BRICK RED IS ONE OF THE RAREST STAMPS OF THE CLASSIC PERIOD IN SOUND CONDITION WITH ORIGINAL GUM.

To verify our intuition about the rarity of original-gum Brick Red stamps, we surveyed dozens of classic United States sale catalogues. We found approximately twenty stamps with original gum, allowing for duplicate offerings and excluding the one known original-gum block. Of the stamps we counted, about half had perfs touching two sides or were deeply cut into on one side. Almost two-thirds had stains or small faults.

With 1980 and 2006 P.F. certificates (Image)

FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE 1857 5-CENT INDIAN RED SHADE. THIS IS ONE OF THE RAREST ORIGINAL-GUM STAMPS IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY -- ONLY FOUR INDIAN RED STAMPS WITH ANY AMOUNT OF GUM ARE CONTAINED IN OUR RECORDS.

Our search of old auction catalogues and the records of the Philatelic Foundation yielded only ten unused examples of Scott 28A. Of these, only four have been described as having any gum whatsoever. These are: 1) offered in the C. A. Brown Collection by Harmer, Rooke & Co. in 1941 where described as "full original gum", it was offered in the 1968 Rarities sale and again as part of the A. T. Seymour Collection (Siegel Sale 373, Apr. 23, 1970, lot 35) where described as "large part original gum" and in our Sale 895 (lot 102, realized $75,000 hammer), 2) the "Ambassador" copy (Siegel Sale 300, Apr. 27, 1966, lot 45A), described as part original gum, also ex Argentum (Siegel Sale 807, Feb. 23, 1999, lot 76) where described as "unused (traces of gum)", 3) the Caspary/Lilly copy, described in both catalogues as full original gum and with light horizontal crease (the example offered here, acquired by Mr. Hoffman in our Sale 946 for $160,000 hammer), and 4) the example offered in our sale of the Alan Geisler Collection, where described as part original gum, a light diagonal crease and two small corner creases at top right (Siegel Sale 929, lot 47, realized $110,000 hammer).

Ex Caspary and Lilly. With 2007 P.F. certificate. SMQ prices GD 30 at $110,000 and VG 50 at $170,000 (Image)