A magnificent example of the 10c St Louis Bear is one of the highlights of Robert A Siegel Auction Galleries' sale of the William Fekete Collection, to be held on October 21-22 in New York.
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The collection incorporates some of the finest US stamps, spanning much of the nation's postal history. Both the 10c and 20c stamp are valued at $50,000.
The St Louis Bears were a provisional issue in 1845-1846, produced to facilitate the prepayment of postal fees before the US Post Office issued national stamps. St Louis was one of 11 cities to issue such stamps.
The 10c stamp is an incredibly rare unused example on greenish paper, with Siegel stating that it has only offered three such stamps since 1993. It has large to huge margins on three sides, while the top right cuts just into the frameline. There is also a tiny 1.5mm sealed tear at top.
According to Siegel there are just 50 known examples of the 20c black on grey lilac St Louis Bear known to exist, with this example cancelled by a manuscript 'X' and boasting full margins, cutting just into the framelines at the left.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has an exceptional selection of rare stamps for sale.