Lot 1337
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15¢ Brown & blue, type II, center double, one inverted (119c), rich colors, nicely centered. Relatively lightly cancelled. Expertly restored faults. Very Fine appearance.
Scott $35,000
Expertization: Illustrated in Rose (though incorrectly referred to as the second example found).
Jon Rose, in his United States Postage Stamps of 1869,
postulates that the variety was produced in the following manner: First, a blank sheet of paper was run through the press in a make-ready run for the vignette, thereby receiving a light impression and little ink. Next, since every sheet of paper had to be accounted for, this sheet was put through the press again in order to print the vignette, but was inserted in the opposite direction. Finally, the sheet was put on press to print the frame, and again, it was run through in the opposite direction from the second, and proper printing of the vignette. Some students have hypothesized that the first faint vignette impression was actually an offset caused by the sheet being folded.
In all, there have been only three reported examples of this great rarity. The one we offer here was the discovery copy.
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| Realized $29,000 |
