Sale 1362 — The El Dorado Collection of Superb United States Stamps
Sale Date — Tuesday-Thursday, 7-9 October, 2025
Category — 1875 Re-Issue of 1869 Pictorial Issue (Scott 123-133a)
3c Blue, Re-Issue (125). Original gum, lightly hinged, intense color and detailed impression, wide margins with much better centering than usually encountered
EXTREMELY FINE. A BEAUTIFUL LIGHTLY HINGED EXAMPLE OF THE 3-CENT 1869 PICTORIAL RE-ISSUE. A RARE STAMP IN SOUND ORIGINAL-GUM CONDITION.
Original sales figures show that among the 1869 Pictorial Re-Issues, the 3c and 90c stamps accounted for the smallest number of units sold (1,406 and 1,356, respectively). Overall, the 1869's were popular with stamp collectors, far outselling the 1851-60 and 1861-66 Re-Issue sets. However, the 90c stamp's high denomination and the availability of ordinary 3c stamps limited demand. Today, both are rare, and handling over the years has not been kind to most of the surviving examples. This 3c is remarkable not only for its centering, but also its overall freshness and lightly hinged gum.
With 1983 P.F. and 2015 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85). Only seven grade higher (highest is 95), which is a very low number.
(Image Magnifier)