Double And Triple Transfers

I have an 87R15 on cover and have fairly recently sold an on-cover example on ebay. I can't remember (because it has been so many) chances I have had to buy others on ebay or in other auctions. A pretty decent example, with cert, just sold on ebay a few weeks ago for a little over $130. I was the immediate underbidder on that one. That is 5.2% of catalogue and was on-cover with a cert! What more do I have to say? The PF fee would have been greater than the sale price! The owner wouldn't even be able to recoup the cert fee. The lowest priced of the four that Siegel sold was $180 plus tip and was a nice, sound, certified example. My opinion is no "assumption" but if anybody still doesn't believe me, I am quite willing to sell my on-cover 87R15 for a mere 20% of catalogue.

Don is 51studebaker, my name is Winston.

I agree completely with Winston.

This is a neat variety - definitely well worth having. It is a noteworthy double transfer, since it is so easy to see. That alone, should give it a modest boost in price/value. But...

I have always thought that this variety was grossly overvalued by Scott, however. I suspect that probably all serious 3c collectors who have been at it for over 10 years have at least one of these, and none paid over $100-$500 to get it. Most, probably got it very cheaply on ebay. The couple higher realizations you see at Siegel I'm sure were not to serious, experienced, 3c collectors. I bought one on cover, from a 3c collector-friend for a couple hundred$. These are very obtainable, for one who looks. For the casual observer, they probably go by unnoticed and not described in some auction lots.

Why do these not stand out so much? Because they are not as "important" as some other stamps. They are neat, fun to have, but not super rare, and don't have any extra degree of importance attached to them that would make them worth another order of magnitude in pricing.

Its easier to illustrate by example. I'm better with the 1c stamp, so I'll use 1c examples -

99R2 - Scott #8/#21 - Ty III. Massive double transfer, but the reason that it is important, is because it is the best example of Type III of the 1c stamp. Also this one is Ty III due to being intentionally short-transferred, as opposed to many others, that were Ty III due to plate wear or plate finishing/burnishing. So this is distinctive in that sense as well. To those interested in the plate manufacture process, it also shows that Toppan Carpenter were still having major issues perfecting plate making with a 3-relief transfer roll.

10R4 - The only recorded double transfer on Plate 4 of the 1c stamp. It was clearly the first position entered when the plate was made - they started, stopped and started again, so it would seem. 10R4 is also one of the Top-row A relief Ty II stamps which are somewhat coveted by many 1c collectors due to their relative scarcity and complete top designs. They are also an interesting study in and of themselves.

The point I hope I've clarified is that a double transfer alone is not necessarily a tremendously valuable item. It depends on context, and degree of importance. Importance drives demand, and then, supply, if not met, can drive the price up exponentially at that point.

How rare a particular DT is depends a lot on the specific stamp involved. Early classic US has long been a widely collected field, so DT's were noticed and collected regularly by many. But there are a large number of later issues that are really quite scarce and can take years of looking to find even though most catalog very little.

..and to complete my argument, I should give an example of a mundane but quite cool double transfer that isn't worth anything extra, really.

Take one of my personal favorites - 72L1L 1c stamp - Scott #9.

http://www.stampsmarter.com/plate/h...s2/14561.jpg

Nice big double transfer visible in "ON" of ONE. I've always liked this position, but hey, its just a #9, Ty IV. Its not really notable for anything other than its got a cool double transfer. Plate 1L material is very common, so there are a ton of these out there.

Also, the more visually dramatic the DT, the greater the premium, generally speaking. The one in question that started this thread isn't all that dramatic, comparatively speaking.

In 1st issue revenues, the T5, T7 and other "major" double transfers get the big premiums because they are visually very dramatic, despite other less apparent DTs being far more scarce, even on the same stamps.

Another factor is that the T5, T7, T13 and T15 DTs are actually shown in the Scott Specialized Catalogue, which contributes to the demand. An even quasi-complete depiction of 1st issue DTs would be a catalogue unto itself. Between just R6c and R15c there are hundreds.

Technically I didn't start this thread with that stamp. It was posted in another thread in an apparent vain attempt to show what real double transfers look like. In that thread, the first double transfer I posted was of the 3c 1851 position 92L1L, a stamp that most would call "dramatic" and one that anybody can see. It takes a 3c collector to appreciate the awesomeness of the stamp at the beginning of this thread, both because of the DT and the rarity of the stamp.

Catalog value is great but in reality the market sets the price. We all see many examples of stamps from all areas that never ever achieve cv or a healthy percentage thereof. On the other hand there are stamps with a cv that in no way reflects the actual cost to acquire. The recent Siegel Buddy Beyers sale is a prime example of scarce items that for many reasons fell rather flat price wise. Many of the mint blocks, some of which were very scarce indeed, achieved 10-20% of catalog. The weak prices of the Columbian multiples and large banknotes was surprising. The market did the talking and it whispered.

Here is a neat (and rare) item. Horizontal pair of Scott #20, positions 8-9R11 with a fairly sizable DT in the upper left corner of 9R11. I am always in awe, not with the stuff that Toppan Carpenter messed up but the ingenuity and know-how that it took to even be half as successful as they were. It was 160 years ago!

Nice pair.

9R11 is a crazy stamp.

The original entry, probably most visible at top left, is so skewed to the left, that you could almost plate it to 8.5R11 (Of course, I'm joking).

Neat dbl trsf!

A triple transfer that really caught my eye is this one from Wade Saadi's collection - #9 91-93L1L. It's for sale at $2500, but I don't know if I like it enough to shell out that kind of money.

Yes, Wade has always had some great stuff.

This one looks like it might come with a courtesy fingerprint.

I thought the "fingerprint" was from the inverted transfer, and not an actual fingerprint.

There are some similar appearing marks associated with the inverted transfer but they are in the left margin, not the bottom. What you are seeing is a true fingerprint, which isn't really all that uncommon in the margins of 1c stamps.