Sale 1326 — 2024 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Thursday, 27 June, 2024
Category — Washington-Franklin Issues, Panama-Pacific Issue
10c Yellow, Coil (356). Pair, original gum, left stamp Mint N.H. and signed in pencil, the right stamp barely hinged and with tiny tear and thin at top, the left stamp is a Gem, brilliant color
VERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE CENTERING—THIS PAIR OF THE SCARCE 10-CENT PERF 12 COIL, SCOTT 356, HAS A SOUND AND SUPERB MINT NEVER-HINGED STAMP AT LEFT.
According to Johl (Volume 1, page 181), only 10,000 of the 10c Washington coil stamp were issued. They were made especially for a New York firm to send out advertising samples, similar to the 3c Orangeburg coil. Only a few rolls were sold to the firm, and the remaining rolls were distributed to some of the larger post offices across the country. Dealers acquired several rolls, but because most contemporary collectors did not collect coils, many were used and destroyed.
With 2024 P.F. certificate. Scott value as singles—considering the quality of the lefthand Mint N.H. stamp, the chances of this pair remaining intact are virtually nil.
5c Blue, Bluish (361). With wide sheet selvage at top, stamp Mint N.H., h.r. at top in ungummed top part of selvage, deep rich color on nicely blued paper, three huge margins
VERY FINE AND CHOICE. AN ATTRACTIVE EXAMPLE OF THE 5-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER, WITH THE STAMP IN MINT NEVER-HINGED CONDITION.
We have offered only a handful of Mint N.H. examples of Scott 361 in the past 25 years. With 2020 P.F. certificate (VF-XF 85). Small blue backstamp.
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Mint N.H., vibrant color on deeply blued paper, perfectly centered with wide and balanced margins, hint of oxidation on framelines not noted on certificate
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS PHENOMENAL MINT NEVER-HINGED STAMP HAS BEEN GRADED SUPERB 98 BY P.S.E.—THIS IS THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE TO ACHIEVE THIS DIFFICULT GRADE.
During the early stages of production of the 1908-09 Washington-Franklin stamps, the Bureau tried to solve the problem of paper shrinkage that caused off-center perforations and resulted in a large number of unusable sheets. Armstrong notes that up to twenty percent of sheets had to be discarded. The first such experiments resulted in the Bluish Paper stamps (Scott 357-366). Rag cloth was added to the wood pulp mixture, but this did not have the desired effect and the experiment was discontinued.
With 2008 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98). Apart from the 1c and 2c, this is the highest grade awarded to any Mint N.H. Bluish paper issue, and it is the only example to achieve this grade. The next highest grade awarded is one at 90.
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Mint N.H. left "BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING" imprint and plate number 4939 block of six, bright color on deeply blued paper, very choice centering, natural gum bend, single natural irregularly punched perf in selvage
EXTREMELY FINE. AN INCREDIBLY RARE MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCK OF THE 6-CENT ON BLUISH PAPER IN THE FINEST QUALITY.
The Bluish Paper stamps were first produced in early 1909 to remedy problems in manufacturing and handling. The first problem was the effect of paper shrinkage on the perforation process, which the Third Assistant Postmaster General's report specifically noted as the reason for the experimental paper. The second reason is found in a letter dated February 16, 1909, from the Third Assistant Postmaster General, A. L. Lawshe, to the BEP director, Joseph E. Ralph, which states that the 1c and 2c stamps would be placed on sale at the Washington, D.C., post office, to determine if "they display less tendency to curl than the stamps made of the regular wood pulp paper."
Paper shrinkage was the result of a necessary step in the printing process. In intaglio printing the sheet of paper was moistened before the impression was made, because the dampened paper picked up more of the ink in the recessed lines of the metal plate. After the sheet dried, the paper would shrink slightly, causing the rows of individual stamp subjects to fall out of alignment with the fixed rows of perforation pins. Postal officials reported that 9% of stamps were unsatisfactory due to paper shrinkage. The curling and splitting problem occurred after the sheets were perforated and divided into panes. As the gum dried, it pulled along the grain of the paper, causing each row of stamps to curl. Down the line, panes had a tendency to split apart along the perforations, making it difficult to package them for distribution or handle them at post offices.
On February 1, 1909, the BEP director notified the Third Assistant Postmaster General that a supply of 1c and 2c stamps had been printed on an experimental rag paper stock, which the BEP developed to resolve the production and handling problems. The experimental paper—10,000 sheets in total—had 30% to 35% rag cloth added to the wood-pulp mixture. Ultimately, the rag stock did not prove to be an effective remedy and was discontinued. Better results were subsequently obtained by modifying the spacing of the six outside vertical rows on the plates (known as "Star" plates). The stamps' distinctive grayish paper was first described as having "a bluish cast." The report of the Third Assistant Postmaster General (for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909) described the experimental stamps as having a "slightly bluish tinge," and the moniker Bluish Paper entered philatelic lexicon permanently.
All Bluish Paper stamps were printed from plates of 400 subjects on the Hoe & Company four-plate intaglio press, which increased the speed of production through simultaneous tasking. The Hoe press had four positions and rotated. For this reason there are at least four plate numbers for each Bluish Paper stamp. Each sheet of 400 was divided into four panes.
Lewis Kaufman records fourteen 6c Bluish Paper plate blocks, including five top, eight left and one right position. In addition to the plate blocks, one pane of 100 is also known with plate blocks at left and bottom, and a second pane (4936 UR) was reported by Boggs to be in the Post Office Department files.
This is not only the first Mint N.H. plate block we have offered (and the only such example listed in the P.F. online database), it is also the finest centered in any gum condition.
With 2002 P.F. certificate.
6c Red Orange, Bluish (362). Bright color on deeply blued paper with characteristic intense watermark, neat mute double oval cancel
FINE AND RARE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1909 6-CENT BLUISH PAPER ISSUE.
Our census of used 6c Bluish Paper stamps at https://siegelauctions.com/census/us/scott/362 records ten examples, including eight singles and one pair. A few of the stamps have cancellations of questionable status, leaving perhaps four with indisputably genuine cancels.
Census no. 362-CAN-03. P.F. certificate no. 14614 no longer accompanies (states "Genuine Bluish Paper"). With 1972 A.P.S. certificate.
13c Bluish Green, Bluish (365). Full top "BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING" imprint and plate number 4948 block of six, original gum, lightly hinged, deep rich color on nicely blued paper, unusually wide margins for this issue
VERY FINE AND CHOICE. ONE OF THREE RECORDED TOP PLATE BLOCKS OF THE 13-CENT BLUISH PAPER ISSUE. A FANTASTIC RARITY OF THE WASHINGTON-FRANKLIN ISSUES AND 20TH CENTURY PHILATELY.
The Bluish Paper stamps were first produced in early 1909 to remedy problems in manufacturing and handling. The first problem was the effect of paper shrinkage on the perforation process, which the Third Assistant Postmaster General's report specifically noted as the reason for the experimental paper. The second reason is found in a letter dated February 16, 1909, from the Third Assistant Postmaster General, A. L. Lawshe, to the BEP director, Joseph E. Ralph, which states that the 1c and 2c stamps would be placed on sale at the Washington, D.C., post office, to determine if "they display less tendency to curl than the stamps made of the regular wood pulp paper."
Paper shrinkage was the result of a necessary step in the printing process. In intaglio printing the sheet of paper was moistened before the impression was made, because the dampened paper picked up more of the ink in the recessed lines of the metal plate. After the sheet dried, the paper would shrink slightly, causing the rows of individual stamp subjects to fall out of alignment with the fixed rows of perforation pins. Postal officials reported that 9% of stamps were unsatisfactory due to paper shrinkage. The curling and splitting problem occurred after the sheets were perforated and divided into panes. As the gum dried, it pulled along the grain of the paper, causing each row of stamps to curl. Down the line, panes had a tendency to split apart along the perforations, making it difficult to package them for distribution or handle them at post offices.
On February 1, 1909, the BEP director notified the Third Assistant Postmaster General that a supply of 1c and 2c stamps had been printed on an experimental rag paper stock, which the BEP developed to resolve the production and handling problems. The experimental paper—10,000 sheets in total—had 30% to 35% rag cloth added to the wood-pulp mixture. Ultimately, the rag stock did not prove to be an effective remedy and was discontinued. Better results were subsequently obtained by modifying the spacing of the six outside vertical rows on the plates (known as "Star" plates). The stamps' distinctive grayish paper was first described as having "a bluish cast." The report of the Third Assistant Postmaster General (for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909) described the experimental stamps as having a "slightly bluish tinge," and the moniker Bluish Paper entered philatelic lexicon permanently.
All Bluish Paper stamps were printed from plates of 400 subjects on the Hoe & Company four-plate intaglio press, which increased the speed of production through simultaneous tasking. The Hoe press had four positions and rotated. For this reason there are at least four plate numbers for each Bluish Paper stamp. Each sheet of 400 was divided into four panes.
Lewis Kaufman records seven plate blocks of the 13c Bluish Paper--three from the top, three from the left and one from the bottom. In addition to these plate blocks, there is one complete pane of 100 in private hands (plate number 4942 upper left, ex Weill Brothers' Stock) and another complete pane (plate number 4945 upper right) is in the "Postmaster General's Collection" at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, which is the pane reported by Boggs from the Post Office Department files.
Ex Wunderlich (Sale 389, lot 636), Grunin (Sale 404, lot 163), "Southern Cross" collection, "MLG" collection (Sale 971, lot 1604) and Gross (Sale 1200, lot 209).
13c Bluish Green, Bluish (365). Well-centered with rich color, Saginaw Mich. oval cancel
VERY FINE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1909 13-CENT BLUISH PAPER ISSUE.
With 1972 A.P.S. certificate.
15c Pale Ultramarine (382). Mint N.H. wide top imprint and plate no. 4954 block of six, brilliant color, outstanding centering
EXTREMELY FINE. THIS GORGEOUS WIDE TOP PLATE BLOCK IS EASILY ONE OF THE FINEST MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE BLOCKS OF THE 15-CENT 1911 SINGLE-LINE WATERMARKED WASHINGTON ISSUE, SCOTT 382.
With 2023 P.S.E. certificate.
2c Carmine, Coil (388). Guide line strip of four, original gum, h.r., deep rich color, perf separations along guide line in top half
VERY FINE AND EXTREMELY RARE GUIDE LINE STRIP OF FOUR OF THE 1910 2-CENT PERF 12 SINGLE-LINE WATERMARK COIL, SCOTT 388.
The 2c single-line watermark horizontal coil, Scott 388, was in production for only a short period of time before being superseded by the Perf 8½ issue, Scott 393. In addition, due to the greater popularity of the horizontal coils with users, combined with a wary attitude by many collectors that early coils were simply trimmed stamps, many were used and few preserved. Long ago, guide line multiples were often collected in strips of four but given the rarity of even a single Scott 388 today, very few guide line multiples of this size still exist. This is the only such multiple listed in Power Search.
Position 2 with dealer backstamp. With 2024 P.F. certificate.
ADDENDA: The perf separations affect approximately the top half of the pair
3c Deep Violet, Orangeburg Coil (389). Centered to right, small tear at top, lifted and hinged in place, tied by "Orangeburg N.Y. May 1 5PM 1911" wavy-line machine cancel on light blue envelope with "Bell & Company Incorporated Manufacturing Chemists" corner card to White Plains N.Y., May 2 receiving backstamp, cover with small scuff spots at left from erased pencil notations of no consequence
FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE ON-COVER USE OF THE 3-CENT ORANGEBURG COIL. ONLY 13 ORANGEBURG COIL COVERS HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS GENUINE BY THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION.
The Orangeburg coil was made by the Post Office Department in 1911, specifically for use by the Bell Pharmaceutical Company. The 3c coil stamps were used to send samples of their products to physicians. Due to the quantity of mail, they were put through the first-class cancelling machine at Orangeburg, New York. The Orangeburg coil stamps' use on third-class mail, and the fact that philatelists were generally unaware of their production accounts for their rarity.
With 1991 P.F. certificate. Signed Raymond H. Weill and Spencer Anderson.
10c Orange, Panama-Pacific (400A). Mint N.H., brilliant color on post-office fresh paper, almost mathematically perfect centering with wide margins
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 10-CENT ORANGE PERF 12 PANAMA-PACIFIC ISSUE.
With 2021 P.S.E. certificate (Superb 98). Only four examples grade higher.
5c Blue, Panama-Pacific, Perf 10 (403). Mint N.H. full top plate no. 6134 block of six, brilliant color and well-centered, pos. 1 and 3 natural gum skips
VERY FINE MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP PLATE BLOCK OF THE 5-CENT PERF 10 PANAMA-PACIFIC ISSUE.
Power Search contains only two other Mint N.H. top plate blocks of Scott 403 offered in our sales since the 2009 sale of the "MLG" collection.
10c Orange, Panama-Pacific, Perf 10 (404). Mint N.H, wide top plate no. 6139 block of six, vivid color on bright paper, excellent centering, natural gum skips in left pair and selvage with light horizontal crease or wrinkle near top
EXTREMELY FINE MINT NEVER-HINGED TOP PLATE BLOCK OF THE 10-CENT ORANGE PERF 10 PANAMA-PACIFIC ISSUE, SCOTT 404. INCREDIBLY RARE WITH THIS CENTERING.
Mint N.H. top plate blocks of Scott 404 are elusive and Power Search lists only five others offered in our sales since 1993. This is a very choice example.
Ex "MLG" collection.