Cherrystone auction Nov. 11-12 offers U.S., worldwide material

By Michael Baadke

The Nov. 11-12 sale from Cherrystone Auctions will offer nearly 1,100 lots of United States and worldwide stamps and postal history, including large lots and collections.

The wide-ranging selection begins with two classic U.S. postmasters’ provisionals on cover: the 1845 5¢ black on bluish paper from Baltimore, Md. (Scott 3X3), and the 1846 10¢ black on greenish paper from St. Louis, Mo., popularly known as one of the St. Louis Bears (11X2).

Bidders also will find an unused example of the 1857 1¢ blue Benjamin Franklin type Ia stamp without gum (Scott 19).

The Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values this early perforated issue in the grade of fine (F 70), acknowledging that better grades are harder to come by.

The example in the Cherrystone auction is graded very fine (VF 80) on its accompanying 2015 Philatelic Foundation certificate. In the Scott catalog’s U.S. Specialized by Grade section, this unused stamp without gum graded VF 80 is valued at $30,000. Cherrystone describes the stamp as “certainly among the finest unused examples” and lists it with an opening at $25,000.

Another intriguing stamp in this sale, issued halfway around the world and nearly a century later, is from the 1949 Universal Postal Union issue of the Quaiti State of Shihr and Mukalla within the crown colony of Aden.

These stamps are listed after the issues of Aden in the Scott catalog.

The high denomination in the four-stamp UPU set is a surcharged 1-rupee on 1-shilling blue stamp, but the example in the Cherrystone auction is missing the 1r surcharge (Scott 19a).

Only one sheet of 60 was released without the surcharge, Cherrystone noted. This stamp, which is a never-hinged bottom sheet margin single, is pencil signed Diena and Oliva, with the latter’s 1957 certificate.

Against a Scott catalog value of $4,250, the stamp is listed in the auction with a starting bid of $2,300.

Many European countries are also represented in this auction, including Poland, Germany, France and colonies, Italy and Italian colonies, Great Britain and the British Commonwealth, and many others.

Auction lots can be viewed on the Cherrystone website, with online bidding options available through Cherrystone and on Stamp Auction Network.

For additional information contact Cherrystone Auctions, 119 W. 57th St., Suite 316, New York, NY 10019.

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