To be auctioned without reserves on August 12th 2015, an extensive collection of postage stamps and coins. The collection for sale is an extensive gathering of mint and used United States postage stamps, including some great rarities. The collection was put together primarily in the 1970s and ’80s by a businessman living in Southern Maryland.
Here are a few highlights from the upcoming auction:
Lot 92: 15 c. Type II, issue of 1869, (Scott #119) printed in two colors, which meant putting the sheets of stamps through two printing presses, with central vignette depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Type II design has a more elaborate frame around the vignette. The sheets of these stamps were run through a special mill which cut a grid into the paper, making it very difficult to remove cancellations and reuse the stamps. Rarely, a sheet would be loaded into the machine incorrectly and would have to be run through a second time, resulting in a double impression. This example is one of those rare stamps.
Lot 105: 24 c. purple, issue of 1870 (Scott #142) also impressed with a grill or grid, bearing a fancy handstamped cancellation associated with mail sent to Europe from New York. The 24 c was not printed in large quantities for general circulation. It was a significant amount of money in those days and the businessmen and attorneys who used them were not apt to save them unused. The paper was thin and made flimsier by the grill, and the pale purple color did not catch the eyes of European stamp collectors. Therefore, only a handful of these have survived, virtually all used. This example is accompanied by a Philatelic Foundation certificate.
Lot 173: 4 c. brown, imperforate, issue of 1908 (Scott #314A) used. This stamp was issued without perforations for use by private companies that sold stamps through vending machines. All known examples of this stamp have the large slotted separations used by the Schermack Co. Because the machines had their own internal cutters which separated the strips of stamps as they were purchased, these are frequently encountered with the slots showing on only one side. This example shows the sheet dividing line along the bottom edge.
Lot 185: 3 c. deep violet, Type I, issue of 1910, coil stamp perforated 12 vertically (Scott #389) used, known as the “Orangeburg Coil.” These were prepared on a special order for a drug company in upstate New York for postage on samples. They are considered the rarest of the coil stamps. This example has the paste-up, where the selvage from one row of stamps was pasted underneath the first stamp of another row to make a continuous strip. Only one in twenty of these could be a paste-up. This example has a Philatelic Foundation certificate.
Lot 202: 2 c. deep rose, Type Ia, issue of 1916, imperforate (Scott #482A) used, with Schermack vending machine separation at right. Exceptionally rare, and not easily distinguished from similar plate varieties, this example has a Philatelic Foundation certificate.