unused 15c Brown & Blue type II, Center Inverted (119b), a gorgeous unused example possessing magnificent deep rich colors, relatively well-centered for this invert, tiny tear at bottom left, trivial negligible perf. tip toning at bottom and a few partially blunted perfs. at left,

FIFTEEN CENTS BROWN & BLUE TYPE II UNUSED CENTER INVERTED

Details

unused 15c Brown & Blue type II, Center Inverted (119b), a gorgeous unused example possessing magnificent deep rich colors, relatively well-centered for this invert, tiny tear at bottom left, trivial negligible perf. tip toning at bottom and a few partially blunted perfs. at left,

OTHERWISE A VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF THIS EXCEEDINGLY RARE UNUSED FIFTEEN CENTS 1869 PICTORIAL CENTER INVERTED, A GREAT NINETEENTH CENTURY U.S. RARITY, ONE OF ONLY THREE UNUSED EXAMPLES RECORDED, Scott retail $220,000.00

Lot Essay

Note: One of only three unused fifteen cents 1869 Pictorials with center inverted. Another is ex Ferrari and is described 'with soiling in margin'. The Ishikawa example realized $217,000.00 in Christie's Ishikawa Sale in 1993. It should be noted that it is possible to assemble only three unused 'sets' of 1869 Pictorials with centers inverted.

Provenance: ex H. Phillips and 1988 Rarities of the World auction where it realized $125,000.00 hammer against a catalog value of $145,000.00.

Expertization: 1958 P.F. certificate which states 'that is is genuine uncancelled' and 1995 P.F. certificate which states 'it is genuine with a tiny tear at bottom left and a few tiny toned spots on the perforations at bottom'. est.