The following information appeared as part of an article in the August, 2002 issue
of The United States Specialist. Recent back issues of The Specialist may
be ordered from the Executive Secretary for $2 per copy. Send orders to:
Executive Secretary
P.O. Box 6634
Katy, TX 77491-6634
Make checks payable to U.S.S.S.
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APS Certifies Unlisted 3¢ Coil of 1910 as Genuine
By Ken Lawrence
P.O. Box 8040, State College, PA 16803-8040
The American
Philatelic Expertizing Service (APEX) has certified as genuine an
unused imperforate coil pair of 3¢ Type I deep violet George Washington
stamps with double-line watermark, issued in 1910. It is a regularly issued
variety of the Washington-Franklin series which had been lost to our hobby for
more than 60 years.
As the unique pair until more examples are found, it now holds pride of
place as the rarest regularly issued United States stamp of the 20th century.
For more from this article, join the United States Stamp Society and read
about it in the United States Specialist.
The 3¢ horizontal imperforate coil pair of 1910 described here
was on display
at APS Stampshow in Atlantic City, August 15-18, 2002, along with
the earliest documented cover bearing the 3¢ Orangeburg coil of 1911 (Scott
#389), in frame #28, located in the center of the main middle aisle that runs from
the entrance of the exhibition hall to the USPS retail area. It was
facing the right side, in a group of six frames just before the 1¢ Z Grill
presentation.
In that row, the famous McCoy copy of the Inverted Jenny (Scott #C3a)
was in the first frame, and the 3¢ imperforate coil in the second. Following
those was a frame containing the so-called "CIA Invert" (the $1 Rush
Lamp stamp with inverted candlestick, Scott #1610c) and the discovery pane of the
4¢ Dag Hammarskjold invert (Scott #1204). Opposite those (facing left) was
John Hotchner's six-frame "Rarities and Uniquities" exhibit.
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