Very Rare 1c 1851 Strip

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder? I thought it was beauty was in the eye of the beer holder.[

I'm curious what people think about listing this on ebay for a fixed price vs. consigning it to a major auction house. I would think that an item such as this would fetch a better price in a live bidding environment, whereas putting it up for a fixed price might lead buyers to focus more on the faults, and wait to see whether the price comes down.

Less expensive for the seller to use ebay. I "question" listing it for a fixed price vs. open bidding...on ebay.

At an auction the bidding would definitely be on the #5, and it would be all but guaranteed that the dealer who bought it would remove that stamp. But the likelihood is that it would go for 20%-25% of the #5 cat, or about 10%-12% of the strip cat. The #5 is just not that nice overall to bring in the collectors with the big bucks to chase it. And anyone who can truly afford to buy the strip will wait for a nice one.

Yes, but what you all are overlooking is that this is the "last one". That's going to bring in the bidders. I have to give the seller credit for a sense of humor. In red letters next to the scan one reads "last one" -- bid now before it's too late.

Oops! That's what I see when it's in my shopping cart. I hit the wrong button and it went into my shopping cart. THat's when the "last one" in red appeared.

I removed it safely, despite trembling fingers.

I would never cut this strip unless I was forcibly made to do it.

In that case, a paper cutter or sharp pair of scissors would suffice, but I would personally place a stright-edge over the #5 and use a razor knife with a brnad-new blade to cut them apart.

Brian

It seems to me that there would be greater philatelic value to keep the strip together. Of course philatelic value and money value are not always or even often the same thing.

That should be reason enough to keep them intact. After 160 years there can't be more than a couple multiples (if any) of this combinatioon left in the world.

No way in the world do you break up this strip. If one is only interested in owning a fault-free #5, one has it whether or not it is attached to a faulty #5A.

Amen! But if I was going to cut out the #5, I would use a sharp scissors.

I'd use a Showgard mount cutter for a nice, clean straight cut...

Understand, my statement about cutting it was not a recommendation, but grading has made this type of thing all too common. Plenty of dealers would do it in a heartbeat if it meant more money.

I think most of us understood you, but clarification doesn't hurt.

I most certainly agree - there are peopl who would break this strip apart to fit a single #5 into their collection. I hope this strip finds its way into the hands of a collector who wishes to preserve this very rare strip the way it is.

Thank you once again, Bill Weiss, for bringing this strip to our attention. I love the education I receive from posts like yours!

Brian

I agree wholeheartedly - to me, it feels as though it would be criminal to break up a piece such as this. And I still wonder about the value of doing such a thing, especially considering that the #5 has the LL ball and plume cut away, which presumably would detract significantly from the grade on that stamp as a single. I just don't see how that would extract more value than selling the strip as a whole.

All very interesting. Even an inexperienced collector like myself knows that once cut, you can't uncut it. I hope it stays intact forever.