Lot 691
*
State Dept., 1873, $2 green & black (O68), perfectly centered within unusually large margins all around, rich colors, original gum, Extremely Fine.
Scott $1,800
A SUPERB MINT SINGLE OF THE SCARCE $2 STATE; THIS EXAMPLE MAY BE THE FINEST MINT SINGLE EXTANT.
Expertization: 1992 and 2003 P.F. Certificates.
Our first thought when looking at this stamp was- we have never seen one this fine. So we reviewed all 67 of the online photos of the mint $2 State. Overall, the vast majority of these examples were poorly centered, with, every now and then, a well centered stamp appearing. Then, one stamp came up in the early 1990s which could be considered a worthy rival- until we realized it was the exact same stamp! Finally, the next to the last online example, from the early 1980s was one more beautiful $2 State. However, as the photo is quite old, it is really difficult to judge. Nevertheless, we believe the stamp being offered here is superior. One interesting aside- the P.S.E. graded only one example and that one received a 50.
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| Realized $5,650 |
