Show Us Your US Revenue SOTN/Bullseye Cancels!

Lot 1858 was an R66c with a shield cancel that he had identified as "George Elv..., Montgomery." I'm pretty sure the cancel is actually that of George Ely, who was Probate Judge of Montgomery County, Alabama at the relevant time. The other was Lot 1894, an R78a with a Thomas N. Dale cancel.

I really would love to do Chicago, but it's tough since I travel to see family for Thanksgiving the following week. Maybe next year.

Both are lovely, but both opened above what I would have been willing to pay. I love the Thomas N. Dale shield cancel and try to get them on as many different stamp types as I can. I have examples on R2c (tough!), R5a, R40b, R51a, R52a, and R69a. The R78a would have been a nice addition, but too much for me.

I was the underbidder on lots 1687 (I pushed it higher than I originally planned, but I had REALLY wanted it), 1839, 1849, 1989, and 2084.

The three I won were:

1919. Great California late date cancel on an imperf. I love to pick up the late California usages as they are the one area that belies our normal assumptions about cancel dates and genuine imperfs.

1851. Good price on a great looking piece. It will depend on how small the "tiny thin speck at B" actually is.

2022. One of the items I went in wanting.

I will post images once they arrive.

P.S. You probably already know this, but be sure to go over the stamps with a fine toothed comb immediately upon receipt. Aldrich plays fast and loose with descriptions and has a habit of omitting faults, *especially* on cancel-centric items. I've had to return more than a few items to him over the years. That said, he usually takes them back and refunds without complaint.

I will definitely check the stamps carefully. I went after these two because, in addition to the nice cancels, they appear to be very well centered and are supposedly fault free. I've known Mike Aldrich for a long time, so I wouldn't anticipate any hassle if I wanted to return something. He started out here in Minneapolis, working in a couple of the now long-gone stamp stores back in the late 70s-early 80s.

I was the underbidder on lots 1689, 1783, and 1865, and a couple of others that I have now lost track of. There was one bidder in particular - Paddle 160, I think - who was determined to win, and did win, almost every cancel lot. He spent a fortune that day by my standards.

I especially like your R65a. I would have bid on it myself, but by that time I had spent half of my allotted budget on one stamp, with a couple of others I was interested in yet to come. And I bailed out before the Second Issue started. The sewing machine perf. multiple looks like a showpiece, though!

Yeah, bidder I60 was throwing gobs of money at anything and everything.

El Paso Smelting Works cancel, combination usage with a Mexican revenue stamp.

I guess lot #1687 was definitely popular as I was an underbidder on this lot as well.

And I don't know if anyone else had this problem, but the auction was moving a little fast for me. Some lots seemed to open and then close in the space of 5 to 10 seconds. I missed out on several lots that I was interested in that closed before I even had a chance to bid. Now granted some of this could have been my inexperience with online auctions as this auction was only my 5th one. I could have also been better prepared. But I didn't notice the speed being a factor during Inman auction a day earlier.

I also didn't like that there was no sound. I was working during the auction and liked the fact that I could listen to the Inman auction in the background. Constantly going back and checking the status of the Aldrich auction was a definite pain. This caused me to miss a few lots here as well.

These are my latest bulls-eye acquisitions. The first two are from the recent Aldrich auction. The third is something I picked up at a local show this weekend. It's completely outside my collecting area, but I think it's a lovely stock certificate and the dealer was asking peanuts. I couldn't resist.

George Ely, Probate Judge of Montgomery County Alabama:




Thomas N. Dale & Company:





Little Miami Railroad Co. Stock Certificate:

Very nice. I'm glad your purchases from Aldrich worked out. Mine, not so much. I'll talk about it more after I get my money back.

Speaking of the Aldrich sale, I got my lots in the mail yesterday. I bought this RS192P1 in the sale, but I don't understand why the proof doesn't match the design of the issued stamp
(4¢ with the design of the 6¢ - head facing right instead of left)

SPQR

It's an essay. Listed in Turners Essays and Proofs of United States Revenue Stamps. Illustrated on page 272. Looks like you scored a nice piece.

yep - Eric has some on his webpage priced at $1,250 and $1,500

Picked up this R48a, almost a pair pretty cheap.

Lovely cancel. I would have bought it too.

I spent the weekend in Florida, and was able to attend the small Ocala show. Not too much to speak of, just a few. The R13 block and RO101TCP3 I found on ebay. The block is hinged, with full, but disturbed gum.

The R13c block and R52c are exceptional!