Lot
2663 
Postal Card, 1902, 1¢ black on buff, the "full-face McKinley", mint card, without printed address, wonderfully crisp and fresh, Very Fine and choice. Scott No. UX17 $17,500.
A REMARKABLE AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE MINT EXAMPLE OF THE 1¢ BLACK FULL-FACE MCKINLEY POSTAL CARD IN SUCH PRISTINE CONDITION.
As an indication of rarity, the Scott Catalogue prices the card without printed address at $17,500, versus $3,250 with the printed address.
Albert Daggett, the contractor for the printing of the Full Face card, was never able to satisfy the Post Office in Washington due to the sub-standard quality of his production. All submitted samples were rejected and as a result the entire stock of 1,625,000 cards was ordered destroyed by the Postmaster General on April 29, 1902. Somehow, to the dismay of the USPOD and to the pleasure of philatelists, a box of 500 was inadvertently shipped to New York City and sold by the New York City Post Office to the firm of Booth, Dailey & Ivins, which held the city contract for dumping garbage at sea. They were shortly thereafter pre-printed with their address and garbage dumping information on the reverse to be filled out by the tug captain. As a result of the printing there remained no mint cards for collectors, although a few examples escaped preprinting with 18 currently recorded.
Realized: $7,000