Stamps And Scissors -- A Bad Combination

Whoever did this owes all revenue collectors an apology.





I saw these in an upcoming auction and cringed. Description states they were cut to create jumbo singles.

It is a shame.

I wonder if the next 'fad' in collecting will be to find and restore these pieces. Now that would be a challenge.

Which auction?
Here is the description from the Curtis sale:
$1.00 Life Insurance, Imperforate (R71a). Block of six, large margins to clear, Sept. 1863 manuscript cancels, sealed internal tear affects two stamps at top right, otherwise Fine-Very Fine, this is the largest recorded multiple and the only one this size, ex Joyce and Cunliffe.

It brought $750+15%, about $850. A single cats $300. How much does the dealer think he is going to make on this? It has to sell at 3x cat at auction just to break even, and very few revenues do so even with these margins. Disgusting.

The 50 cent was also the largest known multiple:

50c Surety Bond, Imperforate (R63a). Horizontal strip of four, huge margins all around, detailed impression, 1863 manuscript cancel, scissors-cut at bottom of second stamp, Extremely Fine, this is the largest recorded multiple of this issue, three strips of four are known and no blocks are recorded, ex Cunliffe

Lots 349 and 356 of the first Curtis revenue sale.
http://siegelauctions.com/dynamic/l...sale_no=1089

The surety bond yealded 2 singles. The strip brought $1450+15%, about $1650. They cat $400 each. The first just sold in the Rumsey "Gems of Philately" sale for $900. Assuming the other brings about the same, with the commissions the dealer will have basically broken even. Or even lost a bit.

I guess we can cross these two pieces off the Curtis census.

Thanks. The 10 inland "imperf" is an obvious fake, the perfs remains can still be seen at the bottom (lot 888). The RF16 in lot 906 cats less then $1, so I don't understand why it is even a lot. It's not an RF15, so.....bottom of the barrel trash for a bottom of the barrel auction house.

An expert on these and other stamps should write an article and/or blog on these philatelic desecrations showing before and after pictures of what is being done to such unique imperforate stamp multiples in order to get one so-called jumbo margin stamp out of it.

I wish we could identify the person who bought the multiples and cut them up.