| Diverse Items |  Top |
| Item # |
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US$ | Never Hinged  US$ |
Mint Hinged US$ |
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400654 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #5 (Scott Classic #5b, Medium Paper), Facit #5d Printing 4 [1873 (1880 Printing) 1 cent Bicolor, Perforation 14 x 13.5] (Fine) on 2 cent POSTAL CARD Facit #bke 2b with 4 text lines (fourth text line measures 66 mm and there is not an extra corner orament in the left frame), in VF quality. The card was sent 6 July 1883 from ST. THOMAS to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, with manuscript endorsement for mailing to be on the SS Reliance. The Used postal card itself is scarce, with a Facit value of SEK 1500. The 1 cent Printing 4 stamp used on any cover or card is also scarce with a Facit value of SEK 3500!!!! (Just for reference, the Used single off-cover stamp has a Facit value of SEK 700.) It is a very attractive and scarce card with a business message, but even more interesting is the correspondence itself and the history behind it. The sender of the card is a formal STAMP DEALER in DWI, "J. Rogers / Dealer in Postage Stamps". The reverse of the card has his PRINTED business information. This is the most formal in-DWI stamp dealer item I can recall having in 52 years. Rogers sent the card to another stamp dealer, R.W. Mercer in Cincinnati, with the message: "Your postcard to hand [received]. Circulars [price lists] however have not been received. I send you per bookpost [printed matter] my latest wholesale lists, and solicit your orders. If you send me your latest quotations for Dept stamps [U.S. Official Departmental Stamps] we may do some business." Rogers continues, with the most interesting text: "We are mutual sufferers of the "JC GLENNAN" fraud, do you expect to recover anything?" This mention of a philatelic fraud caught my attention, but I was unable to find any references to a stamp fraud of that name in that era, so I asked the question in my "Philatelic E-News" weekly emailed newsletter. I am extremely thankful to client "J.H." for researching this subject and finding the answer (and sending me the image which is reproduced here) in The Washington Post, on page 2 of the June 5, 1883 edition. J.C. Glennan was actually the ALIAS of an "about" 16 year old boy by the name of Marathon M. Ramsey, who was ARRESTED, in Washington DC, for having perpetrated a $5 fraud on R.W. Mercer, the recipient of this postal card! Ramsey was held in Washington DC "for the action of the Cincinnati authorities." I do not know anything beyond what is shown in this short article. 142 years later is hard to believe that the police took this $5 fraud seriously, arrested somebody, etc. While $5 meant a lot more then than it does now, I have had a U.S. DOJ prosecutor tell me that they will not open an investigation unless the losses total at least $100,000. I have also been told by both local and out-of-state police departments that they either do not have jurisdiction or do not have the resources to pursue charges for an interstate fraudulent check (not just a bounced check, but a fake check) in the amount of $1200. Times have changed! A wonderful item of DWI Postal History, of DWI Postal Stationery, of Stamp Dealer History, and of Social History in general. ACTUAL item. |
375.00 Reference |
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248440 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
1913 Christmas Seal IMPERFORATE PROOF. Mint, never hinged, COMPLETE SHEET of 25 on UNGUMMED PAPER with beige color back. Colors as issued. Brilliant colors and pristine in all respects. This proof sheet shows the little-known "horn on 9 (of 1913)" variety in position 20 that appears in the issued seals. An outstanding Art Nouveau Christmas seal design. Various proofs of most (1908, 1910-1916) DWI Christmas Seals are recorded, however, they are rarely offered. [This sheet of 25 contains ten horizontal pairs and five singles; in 2023 I sold two horizontal pairs of this color/paper for $79 per pair, imputing a break of value of about $980 for the sheet. Since the market is more limited for full sheets than it is for the popular pairs, I am able to offer the full sheet for well below break-up value. Despite the recent availability of those two pairs and now this sheet, this type of material is extremely scarce!] ACTUAL item. |
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690.00 |
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248441 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
"DANSK VESTINDIEN PROTEST MOD SALGET" (Protest against the sale...) w/ ULTRAMARINE ON CHALK COATED PAPER. NEVER HINGED, FULL SHEET OF TEN (2 columns, 5 rows) with full margins all around. Each stamp is VF to VF+ centered, with wonderful freshness and perfect original gum. Small printing plate difference in each position allow one to use a sheet like this to "plate" all ten positions. Prior to acquiring this sheet and ten other singles, previously in 50 years I had been able to offer fewer than 8 full-gum single stamps (and no multiples); now the total is less than 18 full-gum singles and only one full sheet. A beautiful and key item from the final chapter of DWI philately as the U.S. was working toward buying DWI (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) during WWI to prevent the Germans from gaining control of DWI as a submarine base! Even single are "rare" in such nice quality. I have quickly sold singles of this quality at $110 each! Even though a sheet is much more rare than a single, the market for a sheet is more limited, thus this is priced at slightly less than its $1100 break-up value. An outstanding and important item for a DWI collection. ACTUAL item. |
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975.00 |
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248442 "View REPRESENTATIVE Image"){kind=small} |
"DANSK VESTINDIEN PROTEST MOD SALGET" (Protest against the sale...) w/ ULTRAMARINE ON CHALK COATED PAPER. NEVER HINGED single with VF+ centering. Wonderful freshness and perfect original gum. In 50 years I have been able to offer fewer than 18 full-gum single stamps (including this), but not all of which were this nice, and one rare full sheet of ten. This is a beautiful and key item from the final chapter of DWI philately as the U.S. was working toward buying DWI (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) during WWI to prevent the Germans from gaining control of DWI as a submarine base! This is "rare" in such nice quality. I have quickly previously sold singles of this quality at $110 each! An outstanding and important item for a DWI collection. REPRESENTATIVE image of stamp design. |
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110.00 |
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248444 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
"DANSK VESTINDIEN PROTEST MOD SALGET" (Protest against the sale...) w/ ULTRAMARINE ON CHALK COATED PAPER. NEVER HINGED single with VF+ centering, but very tiny spot in the bottom margin (below the T of SALGET). Otherwise wonderful freshness and has perfect original gum. In 50 years I have been able to offer fewer than 18 full-gum single stamps (including this), and one rare full sheet of ten. This is a beautiful and key item from the final chapter of DWI philately as the U.S. was working toward buying DWI (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) during WWI to prevent the Germans from gaining control of DWI as a submarine base! This is "rare" in such nice quality. Otherwise, without the describe spot, I have quickly previously sold singles of this quality at $110 each! A beautiful item for a DWI collection. ACTUAL item. |
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69.00 |
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248034 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Envelope Facit #5, Ringstrom #4, Engstrom #4A (A=blue) (Watermark Subtype IIb - large ball touches crown on both sides), Scott #U1 [2 Cent blue, Watermark II (large ball)] Dull Blue. Watermark tilts to the left when viewed from the front (flap unfolded). Mint in XF quality. Extremely fresh and nice. Facit 2024 value SEK 500 for normal quality of most common variation. ACTUAL item. |
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90.00 |
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242324 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #1 1978 Official Reprint officially printed from the original plate, with the original burelage, for Volume II of the DWI Mails book. The sheets of 100 were divided into quarters and placed into the books, one quarter per book; all four quarters can be found. The smaller-size marginal number indicates into which DWI Mails numbered volume the sheet was placed. A larger-size marginal number, found only on the lower-right quarter sheets, indicates the serial number of the reprint sheet of 100. Lower right quarter sheet with extremely low "0004" sheet serial number from the DWI Mails Volume II numbered "08". ACTUAL item. |
235.00 |
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238010 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
"Statue of King Christian IX unveiled August 1909 / Emancipation Garden, St. Thomas, D.W.I." vertical format. Mint VF picture post card. Publisher imprint: Lightbourns West India Series. ACTUAL item. |
12.00 |
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234698 "View REPRESENTATIVE Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #1 1978 Official Reprint officially printed from the original plate, with the original burelage, for Volume II of the DWI Mails book. The sheets of 100 were divided into quarters and placed into the books, one quarter per book; all four quarters can be found. The smaller-size marginal number indicates into which DWI Mails numbered volume the sheet was placed. A larger size marginal number, found only on the lower-right quarter sheets, indicates the serial number of the reprint sheet of 100. Quarter sheet, as issued. This offering is for a random quarter sheet position (this standard image shows a quarter sheet from the lower right position as a generic illustration). Only the lower right position includes the large number; every position bears a different small number. If you require a particular position, please inquire for availability. REPRESENTATIVE image of stamp design. |
225.00 |
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