US Stamp Prices Scott 143: 1870 30c Alexander Hamilton National Bank Note Grill. Page 4

Scott #143, 30c Black with grill, left margin single with natural straight edge and partial arrow at top, remarkably well centered within lavish margins, strong color and impression, cancelled solely by a bright red postmark, trivial corner crease, extremely fine appearance; clear 1990 PF and 2012 PF certificates.

Spink Shreves Galleries, Nov 2012, Sale 141, Lot 80

30c Black, H. Grill (Scott 143). Several easily visible rows of grill points, crisp impression, segmented cork cancel VERY FINE AND CHOICE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1870 30-CENT NATIONAL H GRILL. The 30c National Bank Note Company Grilled Issue is normally seen with small margins, or is off-center, and often has an indistinct cork cancel. If one sees a centered copy, it more often than not turns out to have a small flaw. The stamp offered here, with nice centering and an attractive defined cancel, is an exception to the rule. With 1987 P.F. and 2011 P.S.E. certificates (F-VF 75, SMQ $2,300.00)

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2012, Sale 1032, Lot 3225

o U.S.; General Issues, 1870, 30¢ black, grilled, #143. Clear cds, centered left, minor faults, scarce. Scott $4,000. Estimate value $400.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Oct 2012, Sale 95, Lot 192

30c Black, H. Grill (Scott 143). Six or seven vertical rows of grill points are clearly visible, intense shade and detailed impression on bright paper, unusually wide and balanced margins, unobtrusive cork cancel EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1870 30-CENT NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY GRILLED ISSUE. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION THE FINEST USED EXAMPLE OF THIS ISSUE WE HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED. A PHENOMENAL STAMP IN TERMS OF MARGIN SIZE, CENTERING, SHADE, IMPRESSION, UNOBTRUSIVENESS OF CANCEL AND OVERALL EYE APPEAL. The 30c National Bank Note Co. grilled issue is normally seen with small margins, or is off-center. If one sees a centered copy, it more often than not turns out to have a small flaw. The stamp offered here is truly the exception to the rule. Ex Sheriff and Zoellner, and offered to the market for the first time since 1998. With 1982 and 1998 P.F. certificates.

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2012, Sale 1027, Lot 41

1870, 30¢ black, grilled (Scott 143), black cork cancellation, elusive natural straight edge example at right, intense color, clear easily identified grill, rare thus; horizontal crease, tiny corner crease at lower left, and lightly toned, otherwise Fine, 2012 Weiss certificate. Scott $4,000. Estimate value $400 – 600.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Aug 2012, Sale 631, Lot 843

o U.S.; General Issues, 1870, 30¢ Black, Grilled, #143. Used, “thin in grill area, torn upper left corner perf”, Fine appearance, APS (2010) cert. Scott $4,000. Estimate value $400-500.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Aug 2012, Sale 94, Lot 1249

1870, 30¢ black, grilled (Scott 143), red cancel, fresh with intense color, a particularly appealing example of this scarce stamp; purple pencil marks on reverse show through on face, Fine to Very Fine, 2011 PF Cert. Scott $4,125. Estimate price $1,000 – 1,500. (Image 1)

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Jun 2012, Sale 630, Lot 1369

30c Black, Grill (Scott 143). H. Grill, unused (no gum), clear grill easily visible from front, margins to just clear at left, small thin spot and tiny closed tear at bottom, otherwise Fine, a scarce unused stamp in any condition, with 1968 P.F. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jun 2012, Sale 1026, Lot 1292

30c Black, Grill (143). H. Grill, traces of original gum, h.r., detailed impression, grill points clearly evident behind Hamilton’s head, three wide margins, just in at right, Very Good, scarce in unused condition, Scott Retail as no gum

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Mar 2012, Sale 1021, Lot 348

30c Black, Grill (Scott 143). H. Grill, choice centering for this difficult issue, clear grill points, intense shade and impression, cork cancel VERY FINE AND CHOICE. AN OUTSTANDING USED EXAMPLE OF THIS HIGH-VALUE NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY GRILLED ISSUE. Ex Engel. With 1957 P.F. and 2006 P.S.E. certificates (F-VF 75, SMQ value $2,300.00)

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Mar 2012, Sale 1019, Lot 503

30c Black, Grill (Scott 143). H. Grill, intense shade, clear grill, light unobtrusive central red cork cancel, some minor purple pencil marks on back just slightly show thru, Fine appearance, with 2011 P.F. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Mar 2012, Sale 1019, Lot 504

() 1870, 30¢ black, grilled (143), remarkably fresh with intense color and an unmistakable grill, centered to the left with perfs just clear, unused without gum, Fine. Scott price $7,500 THE 30¢ NATIONAL GRILL IS QUITE RARE IN SOUND UNUSED CONDITION. Expertization: 2002 PSE Certificate.

Matthew Bennett International, Feb 2012, Sale 340, Lot 261

1870, 30¢ black, grilled (Scott 143), black cancellation, extremely handsome example of this scarce grilled Banknote issue, good clearly visible grill, well centered with nicely balanced margins; trivial short perf at bottom right, Very Fine, 2007 P.S.E. certificate. Scott $4,000 Estimate value $750 – 1,000.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Jan 2012, Sale 628, Lot 306

1870, 30¢ black, grilled (Scott 143), nice light black cancellation, lovely deep rich color, scarce stamp with easily identifiable grill, pretty; short perforations in upper left corner, and toned spots in all four corners, Very Good to Fine, 2008 P.S.E. certificate. Scott $4,000 Estimate value $400 – 600.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Jan 2012, Sale 628, Lot 307

30c Black, I. Grill (143 var). Clear grill points at upper left, from the early state of the I Grill which shows the unmistakable characteristics of this grill type, original gum, bright color FRESH AND FINE. THIS IS A NEWLY-DISCOVERED 1870 30-CENT NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY ISSUE WITH THE I GRILL. AS SUCH, IT IS UNIQUE AND MAY ONE DAY BE A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS. At least two sizes of grills were used by the National Bank Note Company for the 1870 Issue. They are identified by Scott Catalogue by a notation prior to Scott 134, which assigns them the letters H and I. However, to date they have not been separately catalogued, as have the different grills used in 1867 and 1868 (A, B, C, D, Z, E and F Grills). The G Grill was used on the 1869 Pictorial Issue. The H Grill is larger than the I Grill, measuring approximately 11-13 points wide by 14-16 points tall when the full dimensions are visible. It is found on all values from the 1c thru the 90c. The I Grill measures from 9-11 points wide by 10-13 points tall. It is often a stronger grill impression (though many times incomplete). Students also distinguish between early and late states of the grilling device. The sizes of the grills remained the same in both states, but the characteristics of the grill points changed in different ways as the device wore away. The early state I Grill, as in the stamp offered here, has a very distinct shape to the grill points. In 2004 we started to distinguish between the H and I Grills in our catalogue descriptions and research, in an effort to establish relative scarcity. The 1c thru 7c makes up the bulk of the population of the I Grill, but it is also known on the 10c (approximately a dozen used known), 12c (one confirmed unused copy offered here and another reported unused example), 15c (3 unused and 11 used known) and the 90c (3 used known). The recently-discovered 30c I Grill — the listing copy offered here — fills in a gap, leaving only the 24c value to be discovered with the I Grill. If the Scott Catalogue editors were to be consistent in their listing policy of grills across all issues, then they would separate the H and I Grills into major catalogue numbers, as they do for the 1867-68 Grilled Issue. If this were to occur, then the rare Bank Note I Grills would take their place alongside other grilled-stamp rarities such as Nos. 80, 81, 82, 85A, 85D and 85F. With 2011 P.F. certificate. Accompanied by photographs with notes from Ronald A. Burns, one of the foremost authorities on the Bank Note grills. Scott Retail as normal grill, with no premium for the I Grill.

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2011, Sale 1014, Lot 1372