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A Shield, Eagle and Flags, 1869 30c ultramarine and carmine pictorial issue stamp made US$35,000 at Robert A Siegel in New York on April 7. It exceeded an estimate of US$5,000 by 600%, providing the highlight of the first instalment of the Hanover Collection of Superb-Quality US Stamps sale.
The 30¢ stamp was probably issued in early April, 1869, and has as its earliest known use, a cover from New York to Hong Kong, dated May 22, 1869. The 30¢ stamp has a largest known mint block of six, although there is a block of 15 of the 30¢ stamp without grill, and the largest known used multiple is a block of 12. Used blocks of the 30¢ are quite common, and there are known to be approximately 20 such used blocks in existence today.
Approximately 60 covers with the 30¢ stamps are recorded to date, and approximately 25 of them were sent to France, usually paying either the two or four times the treaty rate in 1869 of 15¢ per quarter ounce. The 30¢ stamp was also used to the following destinations: Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, India, Spain, Italy, England, Norway, the Philippines, Java, China, Peru and Japan.
The stamp is graded XF-Superb 95 by the Philatelic Foundation and is one of the finest three specimens of its type. The pictorial issue was introduced under the administration of Ulysses S Grant and was the first official US series to display images other than former statesmen.
Sourced by paulfrasercollectibles.com
