Lot 19
o
1851, 1¢ blue, type I (5), essentially four margins, being just barely in at bottom right, with the type characteristics plainly visible, bright powdery plate 1E color. Light grid cancel. Very Fine.
Scott $70,000
A CHOICE EXAMPLE OF THIS ICONIC RARITY, BEING ONE OF ONLY 5 ESSENTIALLY 4-MARGINED, SOUND, OFF-COVER SINGLES. ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT OF ALL 19TH CENTURY US STAMPS TO OBTAIN IN THIS OUTSTANDING QUALITY.
Expertization: 2000 P.F. Certificate.
Provenance: (as part of a multiple) Chase, Willard, Ishikawa
Wagshal census No. 5.CAN-024
The origin of the various types of the 1¢ 1851 arose from the last-minute discovery that the engraved design for the stamp was simply a bit too tall to fit onto the standard printing plate then being used by Toppan, Carpenter. Consequently, the plate maker had to erase a bit of the top, the bottom or both from each subject on the plate in order to make enough room for all 200 subjects. It was these erasures that created the types we know today. A solitary position, 7R1E, escaped the erasing process. Hence it became the only one, of a total of 1,000 positions on the five plates used to print the imperforate 1¢ 1851 stamps, to retain its entire design as originally envisioned. It is estimated only 100 or so have survived.
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| Realized $50,000 |
