Auctions

Why a cover from 1881 topped $132,000 in Spink auction

May 2, 2021, 8 PM

unique-1881-registered-cover-rare-pictorial-reissue-stamp

The Robert Van Buren Emmons collection of United States and Hawaii, sold by Spink in New York Jan. 24, included this unique 1881 registered cover franked with a rare 1875 reissue of the 3¢ Pictorial. One of the keys to a top medal-winning exhibit of the 1869 issue, it sold for $132,350.

hawaii-1859-one-cent-light-blue-numeral-stamp

This used example of Hawaii’s 1859 1¢ light blue Numeral (Scott 12), with a discreet red nine-barred cancel, formerly in the famous Caspary collection, brought $26,550 during the Spink auction of the Robert Emmons collection.

Auction Roundup — By Matthew Healey, New York Correspondent

In New York, Spink offered the Robert Van Buren Emmons collection of United States and Hawaii Jan. 24.

The standout lot was an extraordinary registered cover sent in 1881, franked with six stamps in addition to the 2¢ stamp indicium preprinted on the envelope.

Remarkably, three of those six stamps are reissues of the 1869 Pictorial series: the 2¢ and 3¢ from 1875 (Scott 124-125), and the 1¢ brown orange from 1880 (133a).

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News:

This is the only cover known bearing that 3¢ reissue, and there are only three other covers known with the 2¢. Pitched as ideal for anyone wishing to assemble a medal-winning exhibit of the 1869 issue, the cover sold for $132,350, including Spink’s buyer’s premium of 15 percent plus $100.

A very scarce, sound used example of the $20 State Department official stamp of 1873 (Scott O71), with a light blue oval postmark, sold for just over $11,000, while an “amazing” used example of Hawaii’s 1859 1¢ light blue Numeral (Scott 12), with a discreet red nine-barred cancel, formerly in the famous Caspary collection, brought $26,550.