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Month: December 2019

The Cancer Is Spreading…

The Cancer Is Spreading…

Dagnab it, I had hoped that this horrific practice would not rear its ugly head in the revenues field. 🙁 As controversial as this opinion might be, were I a person of infinite means, I would buy up items like this and trim them down just to get these abominations off the market. Various opinions ensued: From stallzer: It’s the double whammy. Butchering of a multiple and grading of proofs. From StateRevs: Disgusting. From rogdcam: There is zero harm in…

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A Trio of Spanish American War First Day of Tax Usages… Well Sort of.

A Trio of Spanish American War First Day of Tax Usages… Well Sort of.

I picked these up from a few different sources. July 1, 1898 was the first day of the Spanish American War taxes. As with FDCs in the front of the book, first day of tax usages are highly collectible. Additionally, last day of tax usages are also frequently sought after. First, a check on the account of the Pittsfield Transportation Co., drawn on the Third National Bank of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Next, a draft from the Banking House of Eavey, Lane…

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Moderately Scarce 1st Issue Silk Paper… On Document.

Moderately Scarce 1st Issue Silk Paper… On Document.

Finding verifiable 1st issue silk papers still on documents is a daunting proposition, as quite frequently you can only see the blue silk threads from the back of the stamp. Sure, you can sweat/steam the stamp from the document to check, and then replace it, but frankly I shy away from documents with stamps removed and replaced. I realize it is an accepted practice with covers, but I just don’t like it when a stamp has been removed and replaced….

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1st Issue Part Perfs Imperf Vertically Rather Than Horizontally

1st Issue Part Perfs Imperf Vertically Rather Than Horizontally

The Scott Specialized Catalogue states the following with respect to part perforates: Part perforate stamps are understood to be imperforate horizontally unless otherwise stated. Part perforate stamps with an asterisk (*) after the value exist imperforate horizontally or vertically. As a general rule, part perforate first issue revenues that are imperforate vertically are considerably scarcer than their imperforate horizontally counterparts. (Emphasis added). The difficulty with the last statement is that while the catalogue value represents the value in the “normal”…

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Definitely An “Ugly Duckling” But I Love It Anyway!

Definitely An “Ugly Duckling” But I Love It Anyway!

At CHICAGOPEX last month, I stopped by Labron Harris’s booth and asked whether he had any illegal usages of revenues as postage available, and he said “I’ve got an ugly one, but you might like it.” Well, he was right on both counts. Definitely not for the condition purist, as it has considerable… “character.” 😉 It’s a 1st Issue 5-cent Inland Exchange (R27c) used illegally as postage on an 1876 cover to England, caught, and assessed postage due, currently the…

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