Bought On Ebay, Ex Hind And Tittman

Sometime I do find surprises on ebay. This is a block of 4 consisting two horizontal pairs of stamps with imperf between the stamps. (Do not confuse this with imperf stamps, with are plentiful at $5 or less each.) This block is also imperf in the top margin. There were only ten pairs produced and I believe this is the only block. Further more, on the back of the stamp, there are pencil notations. "block of 4" imperf vert ??? / ex Hind collection rare / #360 (Scott #) / A O Tittman. Arthur Hind was the greatest philatelist ever existed, who outbid King George on the 1c Guiana at the Ferrari auction. A O Tittman donated his Mexico Sonora collection to the Smithsonian Museum.
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/find...ng_Guide.pdf

Interesting.
Was it an expensive purchase, or didnt anyone realise what it was?

I cannot tell from the picture, are there perfs on any side of this block?

I paid $175 on the block on Buy-It-Now. Scott at $250 per pair, total $500. I think is was a teriffic bargain. First, Mexico is not a really a popular country to collect. Then, people are scared of fakes. These stamps are rouletted. Yes, there are roulette's on all sides and only the roulette between the stamps vertically are missing. I can recognize the signature of A O Tittman. Many of his rarities in the collection he donated to the Smithsonian, he had acquired at the Hind auction.

fotofila
Based on your info it sounds like you may have got a good purchase price. Always great when you can find such a good deal on ebay. I've only ever found 3 real bargains that somehow slipped others notice.