The New Amsterdam Collection of United States Rarities
July 10, 2019
The New Amsterdam Collection of United States Stamps sold for close to $7 Million on 10th July 2019. Hundreds of floor and internet bidders competed for just 220 lots at auction which took almost four hours to complete. With the final hammer, the New Amsterdam Collection took its rightful place among the most valuable stamp collections in philatelic history.
The New Amsterdam Collection was formed over fifty years ago, its mission to complete spaces in a newly acquired Scott National Postage Album. Most of the material was acquired through Dumont Stamp Company, an old established and respected dealership which was in midtown Manhattan in the 1970s.
Competition was intense, especially for the top items. The absolute highlights of the auction were the two 1867 "Z" Grills, each with a pre-sale estimate of $750,000. The 10c green (Washington) fetched $1,150,000 and 15c gray black (Lincoln) $1,610,000, the latter setting a record for a single United States stamp sold at auction.
Additional rare Grills realized $661,250 for a 3c "B" Grill and $172,500 for a 30c "A" Grill. Other noteworthy results include $287,500 for 1869 30c Pictorial with Inverted flags and $402,500 for 24c Inverted Jenny. A rare 2c coil pair estimated at $300,000 was hammered down at $805,000. All results include Cherrystone's 15% buyer's premium.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #44 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 1c indigo, Premiere Gravure (August Issue) unused without gum, usual centering, deep and rich color, rounded upper left and lower right corners, two tiny tears at right, fine appearance, with 1951 (clear) and 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificates, ex-Huber. Siegel Census records 25 copies (including one in the Miller Collection), approximately half with faults, this copy recorded as number 55-UN-16 (currently listed in Scott catalogue as 63-E11e, catalogued as unused without gum). This example has not been seen since 1951 (at that time, the Premiere Gravure stamps were listed as Scott 55-62, with an editor's note stating "It is doubtful that Nos. 55, 56, 57, 59, 61 and 62 were regularly issued." Beginning with the 1991 U.S. Specialized Catalog, the Premiere Gravure issues, including Scott 58, were moved to the Special Printings section of the catalog. A footnote stated that "No. 62B unused cannot be distinguished from No. 58, which does not exist used." An Essays section was added to the 1992 Scott U.S. Specialized catalog and the Premiere Gravure issues were renumbered and listed in the Essays section or Trial Color Proofs section of the catalog. In the 2003 U.S. Specialized catalog, Scott recognized that the former 58 and the current 62B actually were the same stamp, and 58 was deleted from the listings. In the 2009 Scott U.S. Specialized catalog, the Premiere Gravure issues were grouped together in a special section titled "1861 First Design Essays and Trial Color Proofs." The Premiere Gravure issues also are listed in the Essays and the Trial Color, Die and Plate Proofs sections. Their current numbers, with original numbers in parentheses are: Scott 63-E11e (55), 65-E15h (56), 67-E9e (57), 69-E6e (59), 70TC6 (60), 71TC6 (61), and 72-E7h (62), (*) Catalog #55 Catalog Value $50,000 | Price Realized $15,000.00 |
 | Lot #45 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 3c brown rose, Premiere Gravure, never hinged, fresh color, centered slightly to top, fine, with 2019 PFC (currently listed in the Scott Catalogue as number 65-E15f; catalogue value for hinged) ** Catalog #56 Catalog Value $550 | Price Realized $280.00 |
 | Lot #46 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 5c brown, Premiere Gravure, unused with original gum, h.r., beautiful deep color and sharp impression, small corner crease at top left, otherwise fine, with 2019 PFC. Siegel Census records a total of 37 examples of this rarity, of which one is in The New York Public Library collection, two are canceled, 19 have no gum, five have part original gum and ten have full (or nearly full) original gum. The copy offered here does not appear on the census, ex-Caspary * Catalog #57 Catalog Value $30,000 | Price Realized $8,000.00 |
 | Lot #47 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 12c intense black, Premiere Gravure, unused with large part original gum, well centered, beautiful color, tiny thin spot at top, otherwise v.f., pencil signed R.H. Weill, with 1962 and 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificates, ex-R.H. Weill Co. The 12c intense black is the rarest of the "First Designs", with only 16 copies recorded (including one in the Miller Collection at the New York Public Library), at least 10 with various faults. This copy has not been seen since 1969, Siegel Census 59-OG-08 (currently listed in Scott catalogue as 69-E6e) * Catalog #59 Catalog Value $90,000 | Price Realized $29,000.00 |
 | Lot #48 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 30c red orange, Premiere Gravure, clear August shade, unused with original gum, fairly well centered, but with long, hinge reinforced vertical crack (tear) and gum soaks, fine appearance, with 1951 and 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificates, ex-Huber. There are only 33 copies recorded (including one in the Miller Collection at the New York Public Library), with at least 20 with various faults. This copy has not been seen since the 1950s, Siegel Census 61-OG-15 (currently listed in Scott catalogue as 71TC6) * Catalog #61 Catalog Value $40,000 | Unsold |
 | Lot #49 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 90c blue, Premiere Gravure, unused without gum, deep and fresh August shade, slightly faded at the left of medallion, tiny purple ink spot at bottom left, fine example of this rare Premiere Gravure, with 1950 and 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificates. There are only 22 copies recorded (including one in the Miller Collection at the New York Public Library), and nearly half are defective. This example has not been seen since 1950 H.R. Harmer sale and is No 62-UNC-14 in the Siegel Census (currently listed in Scott catalogue as 72-E7h) (*) Catalog #62 Catalog Value $50,000 | Price Realized $10,000.00 |
 | Lot #50 United States 1861 Premiere Gravure 1861 90c blue, Premiere Gravure, imperforate single, unused without gum, margins all around, small thin spot, fresh and v.f. example of this rarity, with 2019 PFC (currently listed in Scott as number 72-E7g, $5,500 for a pair with gum) (*) Catalog #62a | Price Realized $900.00 |
