Show Your Show Piece

Here is a picture of my 1847 #1 red-brown strip of four.

Ron,

You caught me out of town, again!

According to Google, treasure is defined as follows;
1. Accumulated or stored wealth in the form of money, jewels, or other valuables.
2. Valuable or precious possessions of any kind.
3. One considered especially precious or valuable.

I have many treasures, it's hard to choose. I'll get back to you on this one. I think its my letter & cover from Thomas Jefferson while President. I may have to take it out of the frame to scan it.

EDIT: I updated this to match the thread title
Here is one I cherish.

Oh and this one too..

my #35


my #36


my #37 (perhaps a `lil ragged but, I love it!)


my #69


my #72


my #153


my#162


my #241

Oy, where to start. I have several pieces that are most likely unique, but I'd say that my favorite is a pair of R82e bisects on documents dated one day apart, each using one half of the same stamp.

There are only a handful of matching bisect document pairs known across ALL revenue types.

I bought this pair from Richard Friedberg last November. In the global scheme of things, it wasn't as expensive as one would think. I was thrilled.

5 images: the two documents with their certs, and then a composite image where I took the two bisects and aligned them, showing that they are indeed two halves of the same stamp.

These will stay with me forever.

What would you say is a 'showpiece' ?
Something valuable ? Scarce or rare? Or something you like very much in your collection ?
I have nothing rare, very little that's scarce but I do have two items I like to show to others....special items not only because of what they are, but also how I acquired them.

As a Cinderella collector I can offer these:

The first was the most wonderful Philatelic Gift I have ever been given.



Printed by De La Rue as colour trials for the Jeffrey Matthews colour palette. Sent to all printers of GB stamps. These first turned up in an Amsterdam Stamp Market so Enschede is the likely culprit !
How they got to the open market ? Unknown ?
Banned from being sold on ebay. Probably 1 sheet of 240 exist for each colour. [17 I believe-will check]
No market value but I was offered a large sum for this by a GB dealer at Stamp Fair in Norfolk,England in 2009.

The second one is from the London 2010 Festival of Stamps. Only 50 exist thus far but others may be offered at a future date.



Printed by Enschede on an old Wooden Intaglio Press at the Guildhall in London in May 2010.
On thick paper from a copy of the original die.
As a Cinderella collector of British Philatelic Exhibition items, I can call this the key item in that collection.
I was offered over 4 times what I paid for it last week during my UK holiday. Of course I declined.

Are these what makes a showpiece though ? Or does it need to be rare and expensive ? Or just special for the owner? Or maybe one of a kind...Unique ? Not many of those around.

Thoughts?

Londonbus1

All I can say is everything that is being shown here is simply magnificent in every aspect of the term.
Here is my latest prize I just won at auction and has just arrived. My second 64a lavender pink shade. Maybe I can find someone that has the carmine pink and make a trade. If so I will then only be missing the 74 scarlet and the #82 from having one example of every issue of the A25 series. By the way I am not holding my breath on the 82.
Ron

Personally, I feel that sacristy or value has no basis on what a person values in stamps (or life for that matter). I have #298 that I showed when I first joined the scf that is still dear to my heart and I will never, ever, sell it.
Just my way of thinking
Ron

1) the rare 1847 issue 1(c)red-orange shade with blue grid cancel with PF cert 2010.

2) the rare 1847 issue 1(c)red-orange shade with red grid cancel with PF cert 2011. I presently have this for sale on e-bay.

I just love this shade!

According to a series of articles by Calvet M. Hahn in the Collector's Club Philatelist, the Red Orange shade was printed some time during the fourth and last printing, which took place in December 1850.

You guys have some fantastic stuff you can be proud of.
Real treasures there.

I don't have anything in particular, I love all my children.

great bisects Rev.

US Scotts 210 block of 15, MNH 1883

My show piece would be the 23 I just won or the 99 I just won (for less then 150)

My current prize is nothing compared to yours - but would appreciate a current value - it is MNH -



added to this one I had?

I wish I had a high end 'show piece', but I don't really.
Dad left all sorts of 'nice' stuff, but nothing stands out
as a supreme example.

So I submit to you my 'show piece' every time I post!
My avatar is my favorite workhorse Blackjack with an
inverted start fancy cancel.

"Show Piece" dosen't have to mean big $$. The STS (Special Tax Stamp) that were shown can be had for $10-$30 depending on the type. A show piece is one that YOU like to show and others like to see. It could show interesting subject matter, impressive engraving, odd or interesting usage, etc. One of the great things about a topic like this is that EVERYONE can participate!
By the way the "Black Jack" has always been one of my favorite US stamps!