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5c Brown, A. Grill Essay (80a). Unused (no gum), characteristic centering and perforations of the experimental A. Grill, small nick at top, few faults at lower right THE TOP RIGHT STAMP FROM THE EARL OF CRAWFORD BLOCK OF FOUR OF THE 1867 5-CENT ALL-OVER EXPERIMENTAL GRILL. ONE OF FOUR RECORDED UNUSED EXAMPLES OF THIS ESSAY. There are four unused 5c A Grill essays recorded in our census, which originally formed a block of four owned by the Earl of Crawford. This stamp is the top right stamp from this block, which has an interesting history. The entire Earl of Crawford collection was purchased by Nassau Stamp Co. (John A. Klemann) in 1915. In a June 5, 1930, letter from Klemann to Philip H. Ward, this stamp was described as follows: “The 5c copy was one of a block of four from the ‘Lord Crawford’ collection, purchased by this company and later broken into four single stamps. It was previously owned by an employee of the National Bank Note Company, Mr. Charles F. Steel.” [Steel was the creator of the grilling process]. The stamps originating from the Earl of Crawford block have drawn inconsistent opinions over the years. The right vertical pair of stamps (including this one) have been separately certified by the P.F. as genuine, while the upper left stamp was certified first as an essay (PFC 3170) and then as a counterfeit (PFC 36753). The lower left stamp — offered in our 2003 Rarities sale and the one described in the Klemann letter — had never been submitted to the Philatelic Foundation until 2003, when it was declared to be an all-over essay grill. It previously had a 1942 American Board of Experts certificate signed by Klemann, describing it as a genuine “5c Brown with essay grill covering the entire stamp”, an opinion consistent with Klemann’s knowledge of grilling and of the source block’s origin. Of the four recorded used 5c A Grill stamps, two have identical shades, centering and cancellations. In fact, the two of the same shade were originally joined as a pair and were used as singles together. They are printed in a distinctive shade — sometimes called Black Brown — that is very scarce and found only on covers dated from late 1867 into 1868 (we have records of four covers from October 1867 to May 1868). It is likely that a small number of sheets from this late printing were available for grilling with the A Grill in 1867. The other two recorded 5c A Grills are in a brighter shade of Brown and must come from a different supply of 5c sheets printed earlier. Two of the four unused 5c A Grill stamps from the Earl of Crawford block, including this one, were previously certified as genuine Scott 80’s by The Philatelic Foundation. The P.F. is now being consistent in describing this as an essay. Ex Schilling. With 1969 P.F. certificate as Scott No. 80, unused, with small defects. With 2015 P.F. certificate stating “it is a genuine Scott 80E, with an all over essay grill, a small nick at top and faults at lower right.” Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jun 2015, Sale 1106, Lot 3100 |
US$22,000.00 |
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5c Dark Brown, A. Grill (80a). Bold quartered cork cancel, characteristic centering and perforations of the experimental A Grill, couple pulled perfs at lower right not mentioned on accompanying certificate as this is considered normal for the issue ONE OF FOUR RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 1867 5-CENT WITH EXPERIMENTAL ALL-OVER “A” GRILL, OF WHICH TWO ARE IN THE DARK BROWN SHADE, THIS BEING THE FINER. THIS IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS. Our census contains four 5c A Grill stamps considered to be issued stamps. All four are cancelled. Two are in shades of Brown, which are classified as Scott 80 (although one has a P.F. certificate as Scott 80a), and two are in the true Dark Brown shade, Scott 80a. The unused copies are now classified as essays from the same block of four. For a complete census and history of the 5c A Grill, please go to http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/census/80/80.pdf . The stamp offered here is the mate to the Scott 80a last sold in our 2008 auction of the Perry Hansen collection. They were originally joined as a pair and were used as singles together on the same cover (see photos of the original piece bearing this stamp and the two shown together). The two stamps are printed in a distinctive shade listed as Dark Brown in Scott and sometimes called Black Brown by specialists (see lot 161). This is a very scarce shade, found only on covers dated from late 1867 into 1868 (we record covers from October 1867 to May 1868). It is likely that a small number of sheets from this late printing were available for grilling with the A Grill in 1867. The other two recorded 5c A Grills are redder shades of Brown and must come from a different supply of 5c sheets printed earlier. The stamp offered here shows the effect of the overall grill on the perforations, which were weakened and easily torn during separation. For this reason, the experimental A Grill device was retooled to reduce the dimensions of the grill, producing the C Grill, and all later grills were made smaller to improve the grilling process and its product. The two examples of the distinctive Dark Brown, Scott 80a, show perforation defects, but the two others do not. Obviously, the presence of perforation flaws should be considered a perfectly normal character trait of this issue. Census No. 80a-CAN-01. Ex Duveen, Hind, Isleham and Zoellner. With 1986, 1998 and 2009 P.F. certificates. Footnote in Scott Catalogue notes that “values are for off-center examples with small perforation faults”. Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jun 2012, Sale 1024, Lot 138 |
US$230,000.00 |
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5c Dark Brown, A. Grill (80a). Dark shade and perfs which are characteristic of this experimental grilled issue, quartered cork cancels and faint duplex circular datestamp ONE OF FOUR RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THE 1867 5-CENT DARK BROWN WITH EXPERIMENTAL OVERALL “A” GRILL. THIS IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS. Our census contains four 5c A Grill stamps considered to be issued stamps. All four are cancelled. Two are in shades of Brown, which are classified as Scott 80 (although one has a P.F. certificate as Scott 80a), and two are in the true Dark Brown shade, Scott 80a. The 2008 Scott U.S. Specialized footnote stating that eight copies are known is in error, because it fails to disqualify the four unused singles that originally formed a block owned by the Earl of Crawford, which are now classified as essays. For a complete census and history of the 5c A Grill, please go to http://siegelauctions.com/enc/census/80.pdf The stamp offered here is the mate to the Scott 80a last sold in our 2001 Rarities of the World sale for $130,000 hammer. They were originally joined as a pair and were used as singles together on the same cover (see photos of the original piece bearing this stamp and the two shown together). The two stamps are printed in a distinctive shade listed as Dark Brown in Scott and sometimes called Black Brown by specialists. This is a very scarce shade, found only on covers dated from late 1867 into 1868 (we record covers from October 1867 to May 1868). It is likely that a small number of sheets from this late printing were available for grilling with the A Grill in 1867. The other two recorded 5c A Grills are redder shades of Brown and must come from a different supply of 5c sheets printed earlier. The stamp offered here shows the effect of the overall grill on the perforations, which were weakened and easily torn during separation. For this reason, the experimental A Grill device was retooled to reduce the dimensions of the grill, producing the C Grill, and all later grills were made smaller to improve the grilling process and its product. The two examples of the distinctive Dark Brown, Scott 80a, show perforation defects, but the two others do not. Obviously, the presence of perforation flaws should be considered a perfectly normal character trait of this issue. With the elimination of the four unused 5c A Grill essays from the population of certifiable Scott 80/80a stamps, only four examples of this major rarity remain available to collectors. The Scott value is based on the realization in the Rarities sale in 2001, long before the escalation in stamp values during the past four years and before the supply of genuine 5c A Grill stamps was reduced from eight to four. Ex Ishikawa. “W.H.C.” backstamp of Warren H. Colson. With 2008 P.F. certificate, along with 1959 P.F. and 1959 Colson certificates (the latter states “one of the only two genuine examples,” which refers to the two stamps used together) Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Oct 2008, Sale 963, Lot 556 |
US$210,000.00 |