Lot
1405 
1851, 1¢ blue, type II, o.g., lightly hinged, margins close to just in, strong vibrant color, fresh and F.-V.F. Scott No. 7 $1,000.
Realized: $300
Lot 1406 o
1851, 1¢ blue, type II, cracked plate variety, position 2L2 showing vertical crack completely through the right side of design, red paint Mobile, Ala. town and French due cancels, clear to large margins, rich color, Very Fine and choice, variety rarely encountered so nice; with 2014 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 7 var. $450.
Realized: $650
Lot
1407 
1852, 1¢ blue, type IV, large margins including portion of adjoining stamp at top, tied on small blue piece by perfectly struck "New Orleans La. Apr. 12" circular datestamp, an Extremely Fine gem. Scott No. 9 $80.
Realized: $375
Lot 1408 o
1851, 1¢ blue, type IIIa, neat grid cancel, wide margins well clear of design, strong color and impression, Extremely Fine; with 1984 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 8A $800.
Realized: $325
Lot 1409 o
1851, 3¢ orange brown, type I, left margin single showing full centerline, red grid cancel, clear to ample margins, rich vibrant color, Very Fine, a very scarce centerline single; with 2017 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 10 $200.
Realized: $240
Lot
1410
1851, 12¢ gray black, horizontal pair on part India paper, o.g., never hinged, huge margins showing seven adjoining stamps on three sides and sheet margin at left, deeply etched impressions on brilliant paper, exceptionally fresh and Superb pair; with 2018 P.F. and P.S.E. certificates, both Graded (Superb 100J). Scott No. 17 $17,500 as o.g.
AN EXTRAORDINARY MINT NEVER HINGED PAIR OF THE 12¢ 1851 IMPERFORATE IN THE FINEST CONDITION
THE SMQ VALUE FOR A SINGLE GRADED 100J IS A STAGGERING $165,000, A PAIR IS UNPRICED.
The postal Act of March 3, 1851, was to provide for relatively inexpensive postage and new graduated postal rates coupled with the issuance of new 1¢, 3¢, and 12¢ stamps. The new rates of July 1851 did not include a basic single rate that would require a 12¢ stamp. The prepaid letter rate of 3¢ per half ounce up to 3,000 miles, or 6¢ beyond, and 1¢ for printed circulars. As such, the 12¢ value could only prepay multiple rates such as four times the 3¢ letter rate for up to 3,000 miles, or double the 6¢ rate for over 3,000 miles. There were no 12¢ rates even in foreign mails. For a time, the stamps were cut in half and accepted as 6¢ on letters from California. The only transatlantic postage rate listed in the 1851 Postal Guide that is a listed multiple of 12¢ is to Great Britain (24¢), which turns out to be the most common use of the stamp.
Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. engraved the plates and printed the 1¢, 3¢ and 12¢ 1851 stamps in time for the July 1 issue date. While official government records reveal that the denominations were distributed to many post offices on or about July 1, 1851, the earliest confirmed usage of the 12¢ value is August 4, 1851. Moreover, while the Post Office had delivered over 230,000 stamps by June 30, 1852, there are only about a dozen uses documented for the entire last six months of 1851. This is in contrast to the 1¢ and 3¢ stamps, for which numerous first day of issue covers are known to exist as well as hundreds or thousands of covers from 1851. The number of dated uses for the 12¢ stamps gradually increased in 1853 and beyond. Eventually, about 800,000 imperforate stamps were to be distributed. The imperforate 12¢ stamps were in use until mid-1857, when perforations were introduced. Plate 1 was used to print 12¢ stamps until Plate 3 was put into use in 1860, the latter only used for the perforate issue.
Lot 1411 o
1851, 12¢ gray black, attractive red town cancels, large to huge margins encompassing portions of adjacent stamps at sides, strong color and an early detailed impression, an Extremely Fine gem; with 2008 P.F. certificate.Scott No. 17 $280.
Realized: $350