Oct. 14 Kelleher auction features Metlay collection of quality U.S. stamps

By Charles Snee

The Daniel Metlay collection of quality United States stamps will be offered during an Oct. 14 sale by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions in Danbury, Conn. A total of 232 lots will be up for bids starting at noon Eastern Time.

Kelleher describes the collection as a “stellar offering of over 240 exquisite US singles and line pairs, nearly all with graded certificates, purposefully collected over half a century.”

“Taking the advice, ‘buy only the best stamps you can afford’ to heart, and with a knowledgeable eye for quality and color, Dr. Metlay has built one of the finest collections we’ve had the pleasure to offer,” Kelleher said. “Starting from [Scott] #7 and running through plate number singles of [Scott] #C13-C15, with exceptional Bank Notes and Washington-Franklins, this sale presents some of the prettiest classics you could ever hope to find, all sound and looking like they came off the press yesterday, with numerous jumbo-margined and top-graded examples. An absolute pleasure to view, and a singular opportunity to take your collection to the next level.”

Metlay provides a brief philatelic autobiography in the sale catalog.

“I started collecting stamps at five years old when I lived in New York City,” Metlay said. “One of my uncles managed a post office. From time to time, he would give me autographed plate blocks. I also collected a smattering of foreign stamps. By the time I left New York at the age of ten, I had mostly stopped collecting stamps, although I still have my first album from those early days.”

Metlay, an expert on nuclear waste management, returned to stamp collecting in the late 1970s.

“This wonderful hobby has provided me with a half-century of enjoyment and education; I hope someone will find as much pleasure and excitement now that I pass on these items to others,” Metlay said.

A handsome stamp among the offerings of the 1894 First Bureau Issue in the Metlay collection is an unused (previously hinged) $5 dark green John Marshall (Scott 263) that Kelleher describes as having “deep rich color on gleaming white paper, as fresh as the day it was printed, choice centering with well-proportioned margins.”

Included with the stamp are two expertizing certificates issued in 1990 by the Philatelic Foundation in New York City and 2024 by Professional Stamp Experts in Las Vegas, Nev. The latter certificate states the stamp has been assigned the grade of extra fine 90.

The 1894 $5 Marshall stamp is surprisingly difficult to find in sound, original gum condition, which makes the example in the Metlay collection particularly desirable.

In the grade of extra fine 90, an unused 1894 $5 Marshall is valued at $7,250 in the Scott Stamp Values U.S. Specialized By Grade, which is included in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.

In the Scott benchmark grade of very fine 80, the stamp is valued at $4,000 unused in the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog.

Kelleher lists this unused, graded extra fine 90 1894 $5 John Marshall stamp with an opening bid of $3,500 and an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.

Included in the Metlay collection is a splendid selection of stamps from the popular Washington-Franklin definitive (regular-issue) series.

One stamp that will tempt bidders is a mint, never-hinged 1918 $2 orange red and black Benjamin Franklin (Scott 523) that has been assigned the grade of superb 98 on a 2012 Professional Stamp Experts certificate.

The stamp features large, even margins on all four sides and what Kelleher describes as a “strongly defined engraving.”

In the grade of superb 98, Scott 523 is valued at $6,500 mint in Scott Stamp Values.

Kelleher is offering this graded superb 98 1918 $2 orange red and black Benjamin Franklin with an opening bid of $2,900 and an estimate of $5,000 to $6,500.

Kelleher has prepared a single catalog for the Metlay collection of quality U.S. stamps that is available for viewing and download on the firm’s website, www.kelleherauctions.com, with online bidding options available on Stamp Auction Network.

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