U.S. & Worldwide Stamps
April 25-26, 2012
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #189 UNITED STATES POSSESSIONS CANAL ZONE 1909 1c dark green and black, center inverted and Canal Zone reading down, a magnificent used example of one of the most famous of all of the Canal Zone errors, only four copies (!) all used, exist. George W. Wirth discovered the first copy of this error in 1932 (23 years after issue) and removed it from a postcard sent by a gentleman to his sister. The second example (with clipped perforations at left) was found in the 1950s. A third (badly defective) copy turned up in 1969. The example offered here was the last of the four, discovered in 1979 and by far the best centered of the four existing. In addition, it possesses deep rich color on bright paper, violet Cristobal cds, faint crease not mentioned on accompanying certificate, the perforations at right are scissor separated typical of the handmade booklet panes, which is also a trait of the other three examples, making it likely that the error sheet was produced in this way, which makes it even more astonishing that the error was not noticed; very fine O Catalog #31a Catalog Value $22,500 | Price Realized $18,500.00 |
