| Select Stamps - Scott #16-24: 1870-1874 "Skilling Bicolors" |  Top |
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US$ | Mint Hinged  US$ |
Used US$ |
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247900 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}  "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}  "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small}  "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Denmark Scott #16 [1871 2 sk Bicolor, Perforation 14 x 13.5] on 1874 COVER MAILED FROM ICELAND TO DENMARK. Business message written on pre-printed form of the Icelandic firm "H. Th. A. Thomsen", dated 26 July 1874 at Reykjavik, Iceland. PRIVATELY CARRIED BY MESSENGER FROM ICELAND to København, Denmark, and there franked with the 2 skilling Danish Bicolor stamp, at the local postage rate, and entered into the Danish post, with the København FOOTPOST completing the delivery. The clear footpost "FP in elongated oval" postmark is dated 7 August 1874. The reverse of the cover (folded form) bears a colorless embossed letter-seal impression of the Thomsen company and Reykjavik location (this is hard to see in scanned images, but it is easy to see under oblique lighting). The recipient company filed the message with their docketing marking, naming the Thomsen firm and stating the sender location of Reykjavik. At this time, the "Diana" postal steamer sailed on the København - Faroe Islands - Reykjavik route. The Reykjavik date and the København date reflect a reasonable transit time for the "Diana". The stamp is Fine-centered, with a creased lower right corner perforation tooth, and bearing a clear #1 3-ring numeral cancellation. This is a rare use that is perhaps unique (?). "DAKA Nordatlant Handbook 1998" listed only five such uses privately carried from Iceland that were mailed, with Danish franking, through the København Footpost, but only in 1852-1864, and only one or two of each franking. Other such Skilling Bicolor uses may also exist and may have been subsequently recorded, but if so, such are extremely rare. This example had not been previously recognized and recorded. Consultation with other experts has confirmed my description, with estimates of value ranging from a few to several thousand dollars. Icelandic covers of this early date are very rare. A very important piece of postal history either for an Icelandic collection or a Danish Bicolor Skilling collection. |
3400.00 |
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242908 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #17, AFA #17, Facit #21a. Printing 1. [1871 3 skilling Bicolor] Mint with original gum, extremely lightly hinged, with Fine+ centering that others might grade as F-VF. Regardless of the centering, this example is incredibly fresh -- mint examples of the Skilling Bicolors are really quite scarce in such fresh quality. Strong colors, perfect perforations, terrific original gum. Accompanied by a 1985 Carl Aage Møller b/w photo certificate that even comments on the lightness of the hinge mark. This first printing is at the scarcest end of the spectrum of the five printings. Facit 2020 value SEK 2500 or about $300 [2/2021] and AFA 2021 value DKK 2500 or about $410 [2/2021]. The Skilling Bicolors were printed on crisp, very thin paper, thus they can be easily damaged -- undamaged examples such as this one are quite scarce! |
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285.00 |
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230807 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
19 Used VF+ with excellent centering, intense color, and #44 (Næstved) numeral cancellation. Very attractive and very hard to find in such nice quality! |
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95.00 |
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243071 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
19b INVERTED FRAME [1871 8 skilling Bicolor] Used with F-VF+ centering and neat numeral cancellation, but with repaired very small tear in top margin (above N of DANMARK). Looks perfectly fine without a magnifying glass. This a very scarce Inverted Frame, seldom offered in any quality. It exists from only one position (90) in the sheet, only from the 2nd and 3rd printings (there were only four printings). The 2020 Facit value is either SEK 10,000 or 11,000 ($1200 or $1320 [3/21]) depending upon which printing. The cancellation is well clear of both the upper left and lower right corners, thus it is absolutely clear that it is an inverted frame. I see examples of this stamp less often than stamps that catalog three times as much -- and, despite the small problem, this example is one of the nicest looking examples I have seen in a very long time! Otherwise this would be priced at about $1000! |
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325.00 |
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248259 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
20b INVERTED FRAME, Facit #24bv, AFA 20y [1871 16 skilling Bicolor (July 1872 printing)] Used with F-VF centering and neat, very light 3-ring numeral cancellation. Strong color and excellent perforations for this printing of this stamp. Only one position (90) in the sheet of only the second printing had an inverted frame, thus only 9500 examples were originally printed. Despite that seemingly high quantity, very few have survived, making this "one of the rarest Danish stamps nobody ever sees". I estimate that fewer than 500 examples still exist -- remember that inverted frames were not discovered until around 1910, so collectors did not know to look for them or save them. Of that estimated extant number, I suspect that the majority are in poor quality. I believe that this is one of only five examples, and only one of two undamaged examples, that I have had in 50 years! Facit 2024 value SEK 15,000 (4/2024 $1,500) and AFA 2023 value DKK 14,000 (4/2024 $2,100). Accompanied by a 1982 APS photo certificate and by a Jay Smith color image certificate with "Lifetime Guarantee". Missing from virtually all collections! |
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1400.00 |
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248288 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
Scott #17, Facit #21c, AFA 17.3, Printing 3 [1871 3 skilling Bicolor] Mint hinged BLOCK OF FOUR with VF/F-VF centered stamps. Excellent perforations for this issue. The block is intact, and has been sensibly reinforced to keep that way. The gum, other than being hinged, is full and fresh. Wonderfully fresh color for this printing and overall outstanding quality. Mint blocks of the Skilling Bicolors are extremely scarce; in the last 50 years many have been broken up to sell as single stamps! Facit values Mint 4-blocks of this printing at SEK 5000 or 6.25 times the value of a single -- but they are much harder to find than that! Interestingly, Facit 2024 values singles at SEK 800 (4/2024 about $80) while AFA Specialized 2016 [most recent] values singles at DKK 1400 (4/2024 about $210, or $840 for four singles). That is quite a difference. Based on my experience on this stamp, the AFA value is much closer to correct for attractive examples. Accompanied by a Lasse Nielsen handwritten printing / position note as was his custom: "pr. 3 / A59-70" indicating Printing 3 from positions in the A-sheet of 59-60/69-70. An scarce showpiece that would be an important item in a collection or exhibit. From the J.A. Farrington collection. |
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500.00 |
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248260 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
24, Facit #27, AFA 21 [1870 24 skilling Bicolor] Mint top margin BLOCK OF FOUR, with THREE STAMPS NEVER HINGED. F-VF / Fine centered stamps with excellent perforations for this issue (the perforations are always irregular on these line perforated 12.5 stamps). FULL height top margin. Wonderfully rich color for this issue and overall outstanding quality. Mint blocks of the Skilling Bicolors are extremely scarce; in the last 50 years many have been broken up to sell as single stamps! Valuing a part-NH block is difficult. The AFA 2017 (most recent edition) Danish Block Catalog values an ALL-STAMPS-HINGED block at DKK 24,000 (4/2024 $3600). This block contains THREE NH STAMPS. The 2023 AFA Catalog value for the four SINGLE stamps is NH 3 x DKK 10,000 and one Hinged at DKK 3,500; for a total AS SINGLES of DKK 33,500 (4/2024 $5,000). That $5,000 catalog value cannot be ignored because there is strong demand for the single stamps -- especially demand for NH examples which are "rare". Yet blocks are much scarcer than four singles. Accompanied by a 1986 Henrik Pollak b/w image certificate stating that the block is "genuine, mint, never hinged except the lower right stamp which has hinge marks, full original gum, fresh and with excellent perforation for this issue and without any faults." Also accompanied by a 1999 Lasse Nielsen color photo certificate stating "Mint with original gum, two stamps are unmounted mint. Genuine and without repairs. Excellent item." LN wrote that only two stamps are NH, but I (and Pollak) strongly disagree. Under high-power magnification, there is absolutely no indication of hinging or any other gum effect on three of the stamps. In light of that situation, this is also accompanied by a Jay Smith certificate with "Lifetime Guarantee" including guaranteeing the status of the hinging at the time of the certificate. An extremely scarce showpiece that would be a key item in a collection or exhibit. From the J.A. Farrington collection. Payment arrangements are possible. |
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4300.00 |
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246514 "View EXACT ACTUAL Image"){kind=small} |
24 [1870 48 sk Bicolor] Used with F-VF centering and better than usual perforations for this issue. Remarkably light (KJØBEN)HAVN town cancellation -- the cancellation is unusually nice for an issue that was often used for parcel mail. Unusally strong and bright color of both oval and frame. An excellent example! Accompanied by S. Grønlund 1973 certificate -- yes an old certificate, but I have carefully examined the stamp and I confirm and guarantee that it is completely genuine and without defects or repairs. The expertizer made special note of "god farve og leg stempel": Good color and light cancellation. This stamp is not often seen in such attractive quality! |
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239.00 |