The MLG Collection of United States Plate Blocks continued...

VERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE. A RARE COMBINATION IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF SIX OF THE 1894 UNWATERMARKED $1.00 ISSUE, COMPRISING FOUR TYPE II STAMPS AT RIGHT AND TWO TYPE I STAMPS AT LEFT. A MAGNIFICENT SHOWPIECE OF THE FIRST BUREAU ISSUE.

The $1.00 1894-95 plate -- comprising 200 subjects arranged in two panes of 100 -- included five vertical columns of Type II (50 subjects). The left half of one pane was made up of Type I stamps, and the right half of the same pane comprised Type II stamps. The other pane was entirely Type I. Therefore, where the plate number appears to the right of the imprint, the two stamps at right are Type II, and the one stamp at left is Type I. Combination pairs and strips, which exist only between fifth and sixth columns, are extremely rare and desirable.

We record only three combination imprint and plate number blocks, and our census was confirmed by Lewis Kaufman: 1) the block offered here, sold in our 1987 Rarities sale (lot 287, realized $24,000 hammer), 2) imprint and plate no. block of six, five stamps Mint N.H., bottom stamps centered to top and left, ex Bauer and Wampler, and 3) originally a bottom imprint and plate no. block of 20 (since broken out as a a plate block -- the right six stamps of this multiple are offered in Part Two of the Alan B. Whitman Collection), small separation, currently in a private collection. (Image)

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VERY GOOD. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 1894 $2.00 UNWATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE -- A GREAT RARITY OF THE ISSUE.

After extensive effort, we failed to locate another plate block of the $2.00 1894 Unwatermarked Bureau Issue. None was found using Power Search, and our manual search of famous plate block collections, including Eno, Lilly, Todd, Wampler, Fogelson, did not produce another plate block. Lewis Kaufman confirmed that his records show only this one example. Although the centering reflects the typical poor production standards of the 1894 Issue, the first produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, this condition factor must be disregarded. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL-GUM TOP IMPRINT AND PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF SIX OF THE $2.00 1895 WATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE IN THE DARK BLUE SHADE.

This issue was printed from only one printing plate -- Plate 84. Lewis Kaufman's records contain only five plate blocks of this issue -- all are described as the Dark Blue shade: 1) top plate block of six, from our 1986 Rarities sale and offered here, 2) the plate block offered in the following lot, from our 1985 Rarities sale and ex Wampler, 3) top plate block of six, offered in our 1967 Rarities sale and illustrated in Durland book, 4) top plate block, regummed, ex Simon (1975 Siegel sale), and 5) top plate block, selvage partly separated and rejoined, offered in Oct. 1974 Siegel sale and more recently in the Newport collection.

With 1971 P.F. certificate (Image)

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VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE PLATE NUMBER BLOCK OF SIX OF THE $2.00 1895 WATERMARKED BUREAU ISSUE. ONLY FIVE ARE RECORDED, AND THIS IS THE ONLY ONE FROM THE BOTTOM PLATE POSITION.

This issue was printed from only one printing plate -- Plate 84. Lewis Kaufman records contain only five plate blocks of this issue -- all are described as the Dark Blue shade: 1) the plate block offered here, from our 1985 Rarities sale and ex Wampler, 2) top plate block of six, from our 1986 Rarities sale and offered in the previous lot, 3) top plate block of six, offered in our 1967 Rarities sale and illustrated in Durland book, 4) top plate block, regummed, ex Simon (1975 Siegel sale), and 5) top plate block, selvage partly separated and rejoined, offered in Oct. 1974 Siegel sale and more recently in the Newport collection.

Ex Wampler. With 1970 P.F. certificate (Image)

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