Special Printing of the 1879 Jefferson deep brown stamp could deliver $30,000

An auction next month is offering a range of philatelic rarities, especially from 19th century America

Next month, Regency Superior Auctions will hold its APS StampShow auction. Unlike their recent auctions which have involved coins and various memorabilia from sports and space exploration, this sale focuses exclusively on the philatelic.

It is a substantial auction with 2,526 lots, comprising 297 covers, 657 collections and 1,572 singles and sets.

Three of the most exciting offerings are as follows:

The largest known unused block of 1867 Washington F-Grill. The rarity has an attractive, fresh deep green colour and was once part of the collection of Jefferson Jones. Despite some minor creasing and other faults included rather skewed centring it is a covetable piece.

Offered with a strip of five, though to be from the same sheet, it carries an estimate of $25,000.

Newfoundland to Boston cover with horizontal strip of four (Click to enlarge)

The expected top cover in the sale is a letter from Newfoundland to Boston from 1857. Boasting a strip of four brown-violet crown 1d stamps with a rarely seen postmark, it is only one of two of its kind known.

The cover bears a black Boston postmark and a very light red Newfoundland mark. The stamps, with variable margins, have suffered a horizontal fold and the far left stamp a tear, but otherwise the piece is in excellent condition. It is also listed at $25,000.

The expected top lot overall is a single: an unused 1880 special printing of a 1879 deep brown Jefferson 10c. The piece is in very fine condition, fresh and attractive with deep colour and clarity.

Issued with no gum, the stamp is extremely rare and appears in few of even the best collections. It is listed at $30,000, though it has been catalogued higher for examples in excellent condition such as this one.

Regency Superior's auction takes place in Richmond Virginia on August 14-15.

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Images: Regency Superior