Sale 1384 — 2026 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Tuesday, 23 June, 2026
Category — Washington-Franklin and Later Issues
5c Blue, Bluish (361). Mint N.H., rich color on deeply blued paper, near perfect centering with unusually wide and balanced margins
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. WITHOUT QUESTION THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLES OF THE 5-CENT WASHINGTON ON BLUISH PAPER IN EXISTENCE. A REMARKABLE STAMP IN TERMS OF GUM, CENTERING, SIZE OF MARGINS AND COLOR. THIS SUPERB STAMP IS GRADED XF 90 BY P.S.E. — THE HIGHEST GRADE AWARDED AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE TO ACHIEVE THIS GRADE.
The 5c is the scarcest of the regularly issued Bluish paper stamps (the very rare 4c and 8c values were only distributed through official channels and not through the post office). We have only been able to locate a few examples comparable to the stamp offered here. One was offered in our 1998 Zoellner sale, another was offered in the Floyd sale held by Shreves and a third was in our 2026 sale of the "Monterey" collection (graded XF 90 by the P.F. and realized $26,000 hammer).
Ex "Beverly Hills", Curtis and Field. 2005 P.F. certificate no longer accompanies. With 2011 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90). This is the highest grade awarded in the P.S.E. Population Report and no other example shares this grade.
