US Stamp Value Scott Catalog #17 – 12c 1851 George Washington. Page 16

12c Black (Scott 17). Horizontal strip of three, large top margin, mostly ample to clear on other sides, intense shade and impression, used with 1c Blue, Ty. IV (9), Position 51L1L, recut twice at top, once at bottom (four such recuts on plate), large margins, dark shade, small surface disturbance (adherence?), tied by three bold strikes of “Piqua Ohio Nov. 18” (1856) circular datestamp on buff cover to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and forwarded to Mt. Korong, Victoria, red “New-York Nov. 22 (Am. Pkt.)” backstamp, red manuscript “12” credit, red London (Dec. 6) and Victoria transit datestamps, Melbourne receiving backstamp, faint edge toning VERY FINE. AN OUTSTANDING 12-CENT 1851 ISSUE MULTIPLE FRANKING ON COVER TO THE GOLD-MINING CAMPS OF MOUNT KORONG, VICTORIA. The sender evidently intended to pay the old 37c rate via private ship from England, however, this cover was carried at the 33c rate via Southampton.

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Dec 2010, Sale 998, Lot 306

United States 1851-57 Issue 1851 12c black, horizontal pair, margins all around, tied by New Orleans cds on small piece, v.f.

Cherrystone Auctions, Nov 2010, Sale 201011, Lot 38

12c Black (Scott 17). Horizontal pair, ample to large margins all around except barely in at bottom left, circular datestamp cancel, tiny margin tear at bottom left of right stamp, otherwise Fine-Very Fine, with 2007 P.S.E. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5211

12c Black (Scott 17). Horizontal pair, huge margins to full incl. part of adjoining stamp at left, neat strikes of grid cancel, left stamp light vertical crease, Very Fine appearance, with 2004 P.S.E. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5212

12c Black (Scott 17). Vertical pair, large margins all around, bottom stamp plate crack, light strikes of datestamps, few creases and overall soiling, otherwise Fine, scarce with the plate crack, with 1998 A.P.S. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5213

12c Black (Scott 17). Horizontal pair, ample to large margins, clear impression, blue circular datestamp, small trivial toning spot on back of left stamp, otherwise Very Fine and choice

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5210

12c Black (Scott 17). Huge margins to ample at lower left, incredibly detailed impression on bright paper nicely contrasted by red grid cancel, Extremely Fine, with 1983 P.F. and 2006 P.S.E. certificates (VF-XF 85, SMQ value $325.00)

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5208

12c Black (Scott 17). Huge margins all around, Philadelphia circular datestamp and large red “19” credit datestamp, Extremely Fine, the 12c 1851 is rarely found with margins of this size and uniformity

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5209

12c Black (Scott 17). Original gum, light overall toning, otherwise Very Good, very scarce with original gum, with 2000 P.S.E. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 997, Lot 5207

o U.S.; General Issues, 1856, 12¢ black, #17. Black cds, margins to just touching, small filled thin, sharp impression, Fine appearance. Scott $300. Estimate $50.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Oct 2010, Sale 87, Lot 99

The Matching Pair of 12c 1851 Bisects on Covers to Canada. Two grayish blue folded covers addressed in different hands to Thomas Casey in Quebec, Canada, both covers entered the mails in New York City on the same day — Thursday, August 21, 1851 — and were stamped by the same person, one franked with upper right diagonal half of 12c Black (17a) and horizontal strip of four 1c Blue, Ty. II-II-IIIa-IIIa (7-7-8A-8A), Positions 53-56R1E, ample margins to slightly in (small corner crease at top left), other with matching lower left diagonal half of the same 12c Black (17a) and horizontal strip of four 1c Blue, Ty. II (7), Positions 83-86R1E, ample margins to just touched, both 1c strips undoubtedly cut from the same sheet from Plate 1 Early, the 12c bisects have mostly full margins (upper right just clear at top and lower left with tiny crease at tip of point), stamps on both covers well-tied by multiple strikes of “New-York Aug. 21” (1851) circular datestamp, each cover with red “Montreal L.C. AU 21 1851” circular datestamp and “U.States” in scroll handstamp on front and “Quebec L.C. Aug. 24, 1851” receiving datestamp on back, receipt docketing notations in the same hand indicate the name and location of each sender: the former (with upper right bisect) docketed “Messr. Drake Bros & Co. Havana, 7 August 1851” and the latter (with lower left bisect) docketed “Hy. A. Coit Esq. N. York”, light folds at bottom of each cover do not affect stamps or appearance VERY FINE. A SPECTACULAR PAIR OF COVERS BEARING MATCHING HALVES OF THE SAME 12-CENT 1851 ISSUE STAMP, EACH USED WITH A STRIP OF FOUR ONE-CENT 1851 ISSUE STAMPS FROM PLATE ONE EARLY TO PAY THE 10-CENT TREATY RATE TO CANADA — ONE ORIGINATING IN CUBA AND THE OTHER IN NEW YORK CITY. THESE EXTRAORDINARY COVERS ARE AMONG THE GREATEST ITEMS IN CLASSIC UNITED STATES PHILATELY AND POSTAL HISTORY. The pair of covers offered here is remarkable in several respects. To begin, these covers were stamped in New York City on August 21, 1851, using the new 1851 Issue, which was released just seven weeks earlier on July 1 (the earliest documented date of use of the 12c 1851 is August 4, 1851). Further, the use of a 12c bisect to pay part of the 10c treaty rate to Canada is highly unusual. Although the 10c treaty rate took effect on April 6, 1851, the U.S. Post Office Department did not issue a 10c stamp until 1855, so the 10c rate was usually made up with 1c and 3c stamps. We are aware of three covers to the province of New Brunswick with 12c 1851 bisects used with 1c and 3c 1851 stamps, but no other covers are known with strips of the 1c used with a bisect or mailed at this early date. This is the earliest documented use of a 12c bisect, and the use of bisects was prohibited in late 1853. Finally, the unusual circumstance of mailing — mailed on the same day by the same person to the same addressee, but originating from two different correspondents — provides a fascinating explanation for the two identical frankings and use of matching halves of the same 12c stamp. We have been unable to learn anything of substance about the addressee, Thomas Casey. The notation at the lower left of the cover from Havana either reads “v/ New York” (via New York) to describe the route or “of New York” to describe the addressee’s residence. An internet search for Thomas Casey in New York City or in Quebec during the relevant time period failed to produce any information. We can surmise that the senders conducted business with Thomas Casey, and we know something about their businesses. Drake Brothers & Company was a large New York-based trading firm founded in the 1790’s by British-born immigrant James Drake. The firm traded in sugar, coffee, jerked beef and precious metals, and it owned one of the largest plantations in Cuba, in collaboration with the United States Mail Steamship Company (Richard P. Tucker, Insatiable Appetite: The United States and the Ecological Degradation of the Tropical World). Henry A. Coit was also a New York-based merchant and served as a director on at least one insurance company’s board (New York Times digital archives). Drake Brothers & Company’s connection to the United States Mail Steamship Company (USMSC) gives us a clue about how the cover travelled from Cuba to New York City. According to United States Incoming Steamship Mail 1847-1875 (page 342), the USMSC Cherokee arrived in New York on August 21, 1851, after departing Havana around August 17. The previous sailing from Havana left on August 2, before the Drake Brothers letter was written on August 7 (per receipt docketing). Although no forwarder marking appears on either cover, they were almost certainly handled by an agent in New York City, who would have had instructions to forward letters to Thomas Casey in Quebec. Beneath the stamps on each letter is a pencil “10”, indicating the rate for a letter to Canada. This type of notation is typical of mail handled by forwarding agents. The two covers were together when they first appeared in the January 1900 auction of the F. W. Hunter collection, held by Scott Stamp & Coin Co. They went separate ways after the 1900 Hunter sale, but the covers were illustrated and described in Ashbrook’s Special Service in 1952 (pages 98, 106-107 and 163, photos 47 and 75), at which point they were still apart in different collections. In an article by Mortimer L. Neinken in the May 1970 Chronicle (No. 66, page 63-65), he recapped the history of the two covers (quoting Ashbrook) and coyly noted “this commentator has ascertained that the two covers are now reunited in one collection again.” In fact, it was Mortimer Neinken who reunited the covers when he bought one in 1961 and the other in 1970. The former cover with upper right bisect is known as the “Emerson” cover and its pedigree is as follows: ex F. W. Hunter (Scott Stamp & Coin Co. sale, Jan. 10-12, 16-18, 1900, lots 189-190), W. A. Smith, Spiegelberg (J. C. Morgenthau sale, Jan. 10, 1911, lot 15), Barry (Nassau Stamp Co. sale, Apr. 2-3, 1914, lot 84), Judge Robert S. Emerson (Daniel F. Kelleher Co. sale, Oct. 19, 1937, lot 78), Philip H. Ward private collection (per Ashbrook’s Special Service, Feb. 1, 1953), H. R. Harmer sale (Feb. 17, 1970, lot 156) and Mortimer L. Neinken (acquired by Jerome S. Wagshal privately from the Neinken estate). The latter cover with lower left bisect is known as the “Hind” cover and its pedigree is as follows: ex F. W. Hunter (Scott Stamp & Coin Co. sale, Jan. 10-12, 16-18, 1900, lots 189-190), Arthur Hind (Phillips-Kennett sale, Nov. 20, 1933, lot 145), Carl Brandenbury (Percy Doane sale, Dec. 6, 1943, lot 76), John A. Fox sale (Dec. 12, 1961, lot 582) and Mortimer L. Neinken (acquired by Jerome S. Wagshal privately from the Neinken estate).

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2010, Sale 994, Lot 638

12c Black (17). Large to huge margins including significant part of adjoining stamp at bottom, bright shade, bold strike of grid cancel and also with clear red London transit circular datestamp, Very Fine and choice, with 1986 P.F. certificate, Scott Retail with no premium for the cancel

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2010, Sale 993, Lot 265

12c Black (Scott 17). Huge margins to full including part of adjoining stamps at top and right, bright shade and crisp impression, unobtrusive strike of grid cancel, Very Fine and choice

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2010, Sale 993, Lot 266

12c Black (Scott 17). Huge margins to clear including part of adjoining stamp at bottom, detailed impression, stitch watermark, unobtrusive cancel, Very Fine and choice

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2010, Sale 993, Lot 267

12c Black (Scott 17). Ample to full margins, intense shade and proof-like impression, face-free strike of red circular datestamp, few trivial nicks at top, otherwise Very Fine

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Sep 2010, Sale 993, Lot 268