Dutch Country to auction newly found 1851 type I rarity

The upcoming March sale by Dutch Country Auctions will offer a recently discovered used horizontal strip of three that includes United States Scott 5, the elusive imperforate 1851 1¢ blue Franklin type I stamp.

This stamp is often referred to as "7R1E," identifying it as coming from position 7 of the right pane on plate 1, early state; the only position of 200 on the early plate 1 to show a complete design and ornaments.

A census compiled by researcher Jerome S. Wagshal and published in 2001 by Scott R. Trepel on the Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries site notes that 90 examples of 7R1E are known, most of them used.

The strip of three stamps in the Dutch Country auction scheduled for March 20-21 consists of two Scott 5A stamps (type 1b) from positions 5 and 6, at left and center on the strip, and then the Scott 5 rarity, from position 7, at right on the strip.

The 2015 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers lists the single stamp Scott 5 at $70,000 used, but adds that a "Strip of 3, one stamp type I," has a value of $200,000.

The strip on offer has been certified twice in 2014, with certificates from the Philatelic Foundation and Weiss Expertizing Service, both identifying the strip as genuine, the left stamp with a reinforced tear/crease, the center stamp with a heavy reinforced crease, and the right stamp (Scott 5) sound.

The three stamps in the strip are marked with a tic-tac-toe grid manuscript pen cancel.

It is interesting to note that a different strip of three similarly marked with a tic-tac-toe grid pen cancel on each stamp is illustrated on a cover in the Wagshal census, identified as 5-COV-084. That cover was mailed in 1852 from Breton, Tenn., to Madisonville, Tenn.; the stamps are identified as 6R1E-7R1E-8R1E.

The strip in the upcoming auction was discovered in September 2014 by Randy Savedow of the Browse House in Holly Hill, Fla., according to Dutch Country.

Additional information about the Dutch Country public auction is available from the company's website, e-mail auctions@dutchcountryauctions.com, or contact Dutch Country Auctions, The Stamp Center, 4115 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803.

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