US Stamp Value Scott 20: 1857 1c Benjamin Franklin. Page 1

U.S.; General Issues, 1857, 1¢ Blue, Type II on Cover, Scott #20, tied to ladies cover by fancy boxed “1ct” hs. cancel, local usage in St. Louis, MO, attractive, Fine to Very Fine, PF (2009) cert. Estimate $350-400.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Aug 2015, Sale 106, Lot 1325

U.S.; General Issues, 1857, 1¢, Type II on Cover, #20, on folded letter sheet, type II (plate 2) stamp tied by New York cds, circular for a tobacco company, stamp exceptionally well centered for this issue, Very Fine. Scott $325. Estimate $100-150.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Aug 2015, Sale 106, Lot 1326

1857, 1¢ blue, type II (Scott 20), plate 2, position 13L2 showing the plate crack at bottom left, black town cancel, perfs into design at bottom; pulled perf at top right and a couple other very minor perforation flaws, otherwise Fine. Scott $1,400. Estimate price $500 – 750 Perforated examples of this plate crack are much scarcer and much more difficult to find than the imperforate examples .

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Aug 2015, Sale 672, Lot 2171

1c Blue, Ty. II (20). Positions 2-3/12-13L12, block of four, original gum with three h.r. which sensibly reinforce a few perf separations, bright color FRESH AND FINE 1857 ONE-CENT TYPE II BLOCK FROM THE TOP OF PLATE TWELVE. Type II blocks from Plate 12 can only come from the top row. The bottom stamps in this block have very small breaks in the top outer lines. Scott Retail $6,000.00

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jul 2015, Sale 1107, Lot 78

United States 1857-61 Issue 1857 1c blue, type II, unused without gum, centered to bottom, fresh and fine stamp, with Scott 2015 PFC

Cherrystone Auctions, Jul 2015, Sale 201507, Lot 2017

1857, 1¢ blue, type II (Scott 20), plate 2, unused without gum, impressive well centered example with outstanding color; nibbed perf along upper right side, Very Fine to Extremely Fine. Scott $375. Estimate price $150 – 200.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, May 2015, Sale 669, Lot 2427

1857, 1¢ blue, type II (Scott 20), plate 2, neat black bullseye cancellation, sound and attractive stamp with vivid color, Fine, with copy of 2006 P.F. certificate for horizontal strip/3, from which this stamp was taken, this being the right stamp from the strip. Scott $275. Estimate $150 – 200.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, May 2015, Sale 669, Lot 2428

1c Blue, Ty. II (Scott 20). Plate 12, A/B Reliefs from the top two rows of the plate, block of four, regummed, beautiful bright pastel shade, extraordinarily well-centered, small faint soiling specks on bottom left stamp (not mentioned on certificate) VERY FINE-EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT QUALITY UNUSED BLOCK OF THE ONE-CENT 1857 ISSUE FROM PLATE TWELVE. The Neinken book states “A block of 4 or larger, all the stamps Type II, which come from the top and second row of the plate [twelve], is a most desirable item in any collection.” This block of four was part of a block of six sold in the March 15-16, 1989 Christie’s sale of the Walter C. Klein collection, where it was described as unused without gum. The Philatelic Foundation issued certificate 207106 (May 1, 1989) to Andrew Levitt as “Unused No Gum.” Subsequently, the block was broken, and this block of four was sold to Mr. Hall by another dealer (not Mr. Levitt) with a photocopy of the PFC 207160 with the words “Unused OG” deceptively substituted in the copy. This is a cautionary tale and good reason to use The Philatelic Foundation’s searchable database to verify photocopies of certificates. With altered copy of 1989 P.F. certificate for block of six

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Apr 2015, Sale 1096, Lot 44

1c Blue, Ty. II (Scott 20). Plate 12, A Relief, nice margins and centering, beautiful brilliant shade, light blue circular datestamp, Very Fine and choice, with 1999 P.F. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Apr 2015, Sale 1096, Lot 45

1c Blue, Ty. II (Scott 20). Plate 12, B Relief, original gum, intense color and impression with characteristic plate mottling, fresh and Very Fine, with 1995 P.F. certificate

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Apr 2015, Sale 1096, Lot 43

1857, 1¢ blue, type II. Plate 2, two strikes of red carrier cancel, attractively centered, detailed impression enhanced by deep rich color, F.-V.F., a striking used stamp, with 2009 and 2011 P.F. certificates, the latter Graded (65). Scott No. 20; $310.

Schuyler J. Rumsey Philatelic Auctions, Apr 2015, Sale 60, Lot 1962

United States 1857-61 Issue 1857 1c blue, type II, horizontal strip of three, pos.27-29R2, tied by Richmond (Nov 27) cds on FL to Newport, KY, filing fold away from the stamp, fine and rare, ex-Ward, with Scott 2007 APS cert. (catalogue value for used strip of three off cover)

Cherrystone Auctions, Jan 2015, Sale 201501, Lot 79

1c Blue, Ty. II (20). Positions 4-5R4, horizontal pair, wide-spaced horizontal perforations, rich color, neat circular datestamps, left stamp small thin spot, right stamp light corner crease at top right, few perf separations, still Fine, the exceptions to the normal cut-into condition of top-row and bottom-row Plate 4 stamps are those with wide-spaced perforations, the Scott Catalogue footnote after No. 19 (Ty. Ia) describes this characteristic, but it is not noted after No. 20 from Plate 4, ex Wagshal

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Dec 2014, Sale 1090, Lot 1149

1857, 1¢ blue, type II (Scott 20), plate 2, unused without gum, absolutely gorgeous well centered example, much better centered than the VF-80 assigned to it by the newly issued PSE certificate, fabulous color and clear impression, just a great stamp worth well in excess of it’s modest catalog value, Very Fine, 2014 P.S.E. certificate graded VF-80 (1 of only 2 no gum examples achieving this desirable grade, with 13 others grading higher). SMQ $400 in the grade of VF-80. Scott $375. Estimate $300 – 400.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Dec 2014, Sale 661, Lot 46

USA (Scott 20) 1857 FRANKLIN 1? BLUE TYPE II Very fine, barely touching at top only otherwise large margins. Part original gum, very light crease at upper right. (1997 PSE Cert #31 680) Cat price $900.

Regency-Superior, Nov 2014, Sale 108, Lot 83