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What is US retail on WELL centred mint 1893 $2 Columbus stamp?

Bought this pretty looker recently.

I should get it graded, hard to imagine any others are better centred!

Anyway, can anyone advise what well centred hinged examples typically sell for in the USA? I do not follow that market.

Thanks in advance.

Wow! Can I just say that I ran my imaging software over the stamp and I can't get it to be a pixel out of centre even at 600% enlarged. It's that dead centre.
Shame about the spot - but what a stamp!

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Greg ... yes centering wise I think think this would be graded MS101 at least!

The natural wood pulp inclusion is not unusual on these, due to the coarse paper used.

I wrote about this $5 Columbus with a missing corner that those idiots graded as the finest copy known!

NINE times full cat for an ugly stamp really sums up how "faddy" Americans always are.

http://www.glenstephens.com/snaugust05.html



$5 Columbian sells for $A105,000

I am hearing reports from all over the place about record prices. Simon Dunkerley advised me this week Harmers of New York had auctioned a USA $5 Columbus on June 24 for a record price. I looked up their website for details, and a day later saw a detailed report in the July 11 'Linn's'.

That $5 stamp illustrated nearby has a very obvious short perf at base that the gushing catalogue description does not mention at all calling it 'flawless in every regard'. It is PSE graded 95 from 100, and I have no idea how that high a grade could be assigned, with a top right corner like this, and a short perf.

This stamp has a Scott catalogue value of $US9,000 for MUH condition. It sold for $US67,500 plus the 15% "Buyer Fee" or total $US77,625 = $A105,066. That is near NINE times full Scott catalogue value for a MUH stamp seemingly far easier to find than any MUH 1913 £2 Kangaroo.

Was the buyer a collector? Quite possibly not - Greg Manning purchased it on behalf of a client, so it may well have been purchased as an 'investment' by someone. Manning purchased 37 of the 290 lots.

Manning said: "In my nearly 40 years of conducting philatelic auctions, I have never witnessed such a wide discrepancy between price realizations to the Scott catalogue valuations as in this auction.

Realizations of 5, 10, 20 and even 30 times catalogue were commonplace as bidders contested virtually every lot."

Realised 9 times catalogue

Numerous large blocks exist of this $5 stamp, Harry Hagendorf showed me blocks of 4, 6 (all MUH!) and 8 at his stand at 'Pacific 97'. He even had complete plate proof sheets of the Columbian issue!

I have personally seen complete sheets of 100 for values as high as $1 and there may even be sheets/part sheets of higher values.

I have seen covers bearing sets of Columbians, and I am sure have seen illustrated single $5's. The 1913 £2 Roo does not exist on cover or parcel tag, and no larger multiple than a block 4 exists.

Other stamps in the Columbus series also did very well. The 6¢ violet sold for about 7½ times Scott. The 15¢ sold for $US4025 or about 6½ times Scott. Even the $2 Brown sold for $US25,300 or near 7 times the Scott unhinged mint value.

Even the very common 1¢ lowest Columbus value, Scott #230, catalogue $US50 for MUH sold for $US805 (=$A1091) - more than 16 times full catalogue value. This is an exceedingly common stamp and some 450 MILLION were sold. Every schoolboy album has an example.

The high value Columbus stamps are like the Australia 1932 5/- Harbour Bridge - with quite low printing numbers, but nearly all seemingly ended up in collector hands, and postally used are not often seen of either.

In fact this auction of 290 selected MUH American stamps saw DOZENS of stamps bring 10 times catalogue value or greater. Many bought 15 times or more. A 5c 1891 Postage Due sold for 34 times catalogue.

This woefully centred stamp made $300

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-1893-2-Colum ... 0323958255



With the premium placed on perfect centering, any price is possible.

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We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.

Traralgon .. thanks .. what an ugly DOG at any price!

MysticStamps I see has an off centre one for $1,700, but their price are generally Fantasyland.

What is real world price folks?

What is 2012 Scott on this #242?



http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stamp-Scott-242-2-Columbian-Mint-OG-VF-XF-/170716491331

NY Stamps has this for $US649 - not a mention about the heavy tone spot at left, and bad staining along top .. the mind boggles at what the reverse looks like - they do not mention!

How do these outfits stay in business with non-existent desciptions on valuable stamps?

The only stamp with comparable centering I could see was this above. Toned perfs top left not mentioned, nor the rounded SW corner, but all the same a leading seller calls it a "XF+ GEM" at $US1,499 hinged.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/242-Mint-XF-OG-VLH-GEM-CHB-2681-/160616757911

Here is one with good centering, although not as nice as yours. I'd think you'd be hard pressed to find one with a better grade than yours. An extremely nice piece !



http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-242-2-Columb ... 5adc42aeb0

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"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

Stallzer .. yes but he has that at $US1,100, yet it is noticeably gum thinned!

Link to US Scott 242s (mint hinged) sold at Siegel Auctions:
http://tinyurl.com/7vmcnje
(I don't have the copyright to use their photos without permission, but this will take you to the whole list of those sold over the past 20 years)

Yes Seigel often gets insane prices quite often for well centred USA high values.

This hinged one below in 2009 got $US3,750 plus 15% = $US4,312 simply because it was graded "95" re centring -

EXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB ORIGINAL-GUM EXAMPLE OF THE $2.00 COLUMBIAN ISSUE. With 2009 P.S.E. certificate (OGph, XF-Superb 95).

Does not look any better than my copy, that I can see. Sigh. I think I'll put mine on my Rarity page for $A975, and let the numerical graders stay in their little Fantasy world over there!

Glen

Is there something 'wrong' with the perfs on the Siegel copy, above the "of AM..."? Is that a HR?

I remember getting Mystic approvals as a youth...this was in the days before Scott's catalogue prices were "retail", thus every dealer dealt at a hefty discount from cat. Yet when I looked up the stamps Mystic sent me, their asking price each and every time was full cat. After a little while I gave up their approval service as I was tired of wasting my money on postage returning most of what they sent.

Yes, pity about that 'spot' on Glen's Columbian, but then its not in the design area, and to be bang in the frame like that is pretty much the least-obtrusive place it could be. Shouldn't hang around for sale long at the price you have in mind.

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

The rarity of the item ($5 Columbian) has earned it the right to display some minor faults without suffering a large blow to its value, especially when it does not detract from the image itself.

Scott's 2011 US Specialized catalogue has the MUH with a 95 grade at $85,000. Extra-fine or 90 grade drops to $29,000.

It seems to me that buyers valued this stamp somewhere near a SUP, or 98 to pay $115,000. If the corner perf is the only fault...and as a short perf that is certainly the least objectionable, Siegels got what the market was willing to pay for a rare classic.

Now, as for your stamp Glen, the spot significantly detracts IMHO. But here's the current Scott Specialty prices for your little "gem":
VG. F. F-VF. VF. VF-XF. XF. XF-SUP. SUP
USED. 160. 325. 460. 675. 750. 1050. 3100. 6950.
U/NG. 140. 260. 370. 550. 650. 825. 1100. 1600.
U/OG. 285. 485. 775. 1150. 1400. 1750. 4000. 8750.
MUH. 825. 1500. 2500 4000. 6500. 14000. 60000. ---

Looks like the one sold is slightly above the original gum very fine price. Timbres

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"Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies you have, beautifully." - Scott Alexander
I collect Souvenir Sheets postally used on cover, WW used stamps up to 1957 except everything of Brasil and Argentina.

Hey Glen, can we see a scan of the back?

The centering is truly superb. The only thing (from only seeing the front) that mars it is the spot at lower right. Have you looked at the spot under high magnification? Is its composition such that it could be "improved", i.e., made a bit more unobtrusive?

Right now, your eye sort of gravitates towards that spot; it mars the overall presentation.

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www.revenue-collector.com - Member APS, ARA
Click here to see my U.S. revenue wantlist.

Per my read of the grading rules, I expect that the spot subtracts minimum of 10 points from the score it would earn.

I don't know this market very well, but suspect that Glen chose a good price at which it will sell quickly, but would sit if he asked much more.

It is just a piece of paper fibre - often found on the paper of this set. Short of digging it out with my lethal tip tweezers - and leaving a pinhole - not much I can do.

If "Superb centred" is Scott $8,500, I am sure it will find a home at $975

... and ...

This is exactly what I was talking about in the thread about the grading of that Canadian stamp; buyers have to ignore the seller's grading and make their own decision based on what their own eyes tell them.

In terms of prices realized, someone has done all the work for "us".

Thank you Swedish Tiger, whoever you are.

Came across this website while searching for info on the design behind the $1 Columbian.

This is the page for the $2:

http://www.theswedishtiger.com/242-scotts.html

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

I'd love to see the photo of the hinged copy that sold a year back for $18,000!

"Only In America".

"Thank you Swedish Tiger, whoever you are."

Tis me! Tis me!

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For US and GB collectors visit http://www.theswedishtiger.com

theswedishtiger - long time no post! Around 5 years I can see.

I'd forgotten this topic. I decided to list up the $2 Columbus for sale at $995 -

http://www.glenstephens.com/rarity.html

Hopefully an American centring fanatic will stumble across it one day.

I only wish perfect centred high value Kangaroos were under $1000!

Glen

Get it PSE rated and slabbed. It will then be worth a Quintillionzillion Dollars.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

Then convert it all into Zim $, convince the Magratheans that Mugabe is President of Earth and that that's our planetary currency, and they can arrange an even bigger place for you to cram with inventory.

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

They are still all asleep. Slartibartfast confirmed that.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .