U.S. 1909 5¢ Washington on bluish paper in Feb. 17-18 Cherrystone auction of rare worldwide stamps and postal history

By Charles Snee

Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers will offer bidders more than 1,500 lots of rare United States and worldwide stamps and covers during a Feb. 17-18 sale at its gallery in Teaneck, N.J.

The two-day auction will take place in four parts, with sessions each day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

“There are collections of European Countries, British Commonwealth, South and Central American countries, further selections from Al Kugel’s Postal History of the world, Marty Farber’s (Zillions of Stamps) worldwide stocks and collections, strong Poland, William Maddocks’ award winning collections of Southern Europe, including Croatia, Western Hungary, Serbia and others,” Cherrystone said.

Also included in the sale are more than 200 “large lots and collections, ranging from single country albums to specialized collections, multi-carton worldwide properties and excellent Postal History lots,” according to Cherrystone.

During the opening session on the morning of Feb. 17, a scarce stamp from the massive Washington-Franklin series of definitive (regular-issue) stamps will cross the auction block: a mint, never-hinged top margin single of the 1909 5¢ blue George Washington printed on bluish paper (Scott 361). Cherrystone notes that the top selvage is hinged and the owner’s handstamp appears on the reverse (not shown).

The 5¢ Washington on bluish paper in the Cherrystone sale comes with a 2020 Philatelic Foundation certificate that assigned the grade of very fine-extra fine 85, one increment above the very fine-80 grade used to value stamps in the Scott catalog.

In the grade of very fine, a mint, never-hinged example of Scott 361 is valued at $15,000 in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. In very fine-extra fine grade, the value jumps to $20,000, as listed in the Scott Stamp Values U.S. Specialized by Grade.

According to the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog, bluish paper “was made with 35 percent rag stock instead of all wood pulp. The ‘bluish’ color (actually grayish blue) goes through the paper showing clearly on the back as well as on the face.”

Of the stamps printed on bluish paper (Scott 357-366), the 5¢ blue Washington is the scarcest in used condition, with a value of $20,000.

A footnote in the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog highlights that scarcity: “Only two examples of No. 361 used off cover (three additional on cover) are recorded. Value used is for the better of the two examples, which is well-centered but has two reattached perforations.”

The plate number block of six of Scott 361, valued at $140,000 in the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog, is unique.

Cherrystone is offering this mint, never-hinged top margin single of the 1909 5¢ blue George Washington printed on bluish paper with an estimate of $9,000 to $10,000.

In 1948 India issued a set of four stamps (Scott 203-206) honoring Mahatma Gandhi. A footnote in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue states: “Nos 203-206 exist with ‘Specimen’ overprints in a limited edition presentation booklet. The stamps are affixed to gold foil pages. Value, complete booklet $13,000.” The value is italicized to indicate an item that is difficult to value because it appears infrequently in the philatelic marketplace.

One of the booklets is featured in the Cherrystone auction and will be up for bids during the morning session on Feb. 18.

Illustrated above are two photos showing the booklet open. At left is the first gold foil page of the booklet, to which the 10-rupee high denomination (Scott 206) is affixed. The other three denominations — 1½ anna, 3½a and 12a — are attached to the second gold foil page at right.

The cover of the booklet (not pictured) is in black velvet.

Cherrystone notes that the 12a stamp has “a minor abrasion at bottom, which hardly detracts from this extremely rare Specimen booklet.” Furthermore, the booklet is “without the usual faults, toning and discolorations which often plague this iconic item,” according to Cherrystone.

Although difficult to see against the gold foil, the first page is inscribed “Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Stamps, 15th August 1948” in red above the 10r stamp. All four stamps are framed in a red border, which is also hard to see.

Cherrystone’s lot description provides additional background about the booklet:

“The Government of India issued a set of four commemorative stamps on 15th August, 1948, the first anniversary of independence as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. These were the first commemorative stamps of Independent India and the only set of stamps printed outside India, by Courvoisier S.A. in La Chaux-De-Fonds. Very few booklet sets were produced, with two different styles reported. These were made specially for the Indian Embassy in Switzerland for presentation to very high dignitaries.”

Cherrystone is offering this rare presentation booklet containing the four 1948 Mahatma Gandhi stamps overprinted “Specimen” with an estimate of $9,500 to $10,000.

The catalog for the Feb. 17-18 sale of rare U.S. and worldwide stamps and postal history can be viewed and is available for download on the Cherrystone website, www.cherrystoneauctions.com, with online bidding options available through Cherrystone.

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