Sale 1376 — The Monterey Collection of Superb United States 19th and 20th Century Stamps
Sale Date — Wednesday, 22 April, 2026
Category — 1898 Trans-Mississippi Issue (Scott 285-293)
$1.00 Black, Trans-Mississippi (292). Mint N.H. with wide bottom plate no. 606 selvage, exceptional centering with wide margins, proof-like impression on bright paper
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A MAGNIFICENT MINT NEVER-HINGED PLATE NUMBER SINGLE OF THE $1.00 TRANS-MISSISSIPPI ISSUE, GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E. THIS ISSUE IS WIDELY CONSIDERED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DESIGN IN UNITED STATES PHILATELY.
The $1.00 Trans-Mississippi is widely considered to be the most beautiful design in U.S. philately. According to Brookman, the picture is supposed to portray cattle in the American West and is labelled "Western Cattle In Storm" at bottom. However, the subject of the original painting by J. A. MacWhirter, who specialized in romantic landscapes and first exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy at the age of 14, was of cattle in the West Highlands of Scotland.
This issue's long-time popularity with collectors led to hinging of the vast majority of singles. Although blocks have been broken over the years to supply Mint N.H. singles, it seems that grading is always a compromise between perfect centering and margin width. Only in a few instances do we find the combination of Mint N.H. condition, Extremely Fine Gem centering and wide balanced margins. We have offered numerous plate number singles of the $1.00 Trans-Mississippi, and we have offered nine Mint N.H. stamps graded 95 or 98. However, before this stamp we had not offered a combination of those two desirable features. The highest graded Mint N.H. plate number single offered in our auctions previously was an example at XF 90. This is truly one of the finest single stamps of the Trans-Mississippi issue.
With 1998 P.F. and 2006 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95). Only four Mint N.H. stamps grade higher (at 98, the last example we offered realized $55,000 hammer in Sale 1351, lot 1118) and only six share this 95 grade. We have offered nearly all of those stamp in the past and none we have encountered have plate number selvage (one has imprint selvage).
