Lot 2180
Canal Zone, 1962, 4¢ Thatcher Ferry Bridge, silver (bridge) omitted (157a), right sheet margin single, perfectly centered and post office fresh, small penciled position number "30" on reverse. Original gum, never hinged. A Superb example of this famed error.
Scott $7,500
Accompanied by a letter dated June 17, 1970 from legendary Boston dealer H.E. Harris to the original owner in which Harris states that this is his "only remaining copy" and "The speed with which all 50 copies have disappeared surprises and disconcerts me. Am sorry, in retrospect, I did not place a much higher price on these stamps at the very beginning." Also included is Harris' original invoice for $2,500.
One pane of 50 was discovered by H.E. Harris in a shipment of new issues from the Canal Zone philatelic agency. When the error was announced U.S. Postmaster General J. Edward Day made plans to intentionally reproduce millions of similar errors, just as he had done earlier when the Dag Hammarskjold inverted background error was discovered. In a landmark case Harris successfully sued to prevent the post office from ever reproducing errors in order to destroy collector value. All known examples are from this pane, which Harris broke up and sold beginning in 1969. The other three panes from the original sheet of 200 were discovered by Canal Zone postal inspectors; two were laminated and presented to the National Postal Museum, and the third was destroyed.
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| Realized $5,500 |
