ID: 52346525
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U.S. #496a MNH Joint Line Pair w/ Graded 85 Certificate
$410.00
$450.00
Condition: MNH U.S. #496a MNH VF-XF joint line pair with WT Crowe certificate #22053 graded VF-XF 85 NH. This is an extremely rare item. PSE has only graded 15 MNH line pairs and only two graded higher. Scott 2023 catalog value is $750. PSE does not cur ... Read More
Item Specifics
- Country
- United States
- Catalog Number
- 496a
- Stamp Type
- General Issue
- Condition
- Mint (NH)
- Stamp Format
- Pair
- Certificate Grade
- 85 (VF/XF)
Item Description
Condition: MNHU.S. #496a MNH VF-XF joint line pair with WT Crowe certificate #22053 graded VF-XF 85 NH. This is an extremely rare item. PSE has only graded 15 MNH line pairs and only two graded higher. Scott 2023 catalog value is $750. PSE does not currently list a SMQ value. The APS has only certified six 496a pairs and no line pairs. This one has been examined by William T. Crowe and declared genuine in all respects with no faults.For anyone who may be "on the fence" about the importance of expertization, I have taken the liberty of reproducing an article from the September 2021 American Philatelist (photos 4-7) about one APS member's experiences with buying stamps at auction and then having them certified. If you take the time to read or even scan it, I think you will be shocked, as was I. Bottom line is: classic US stamps purchased without expert certification have about a 50/50 chance of being altered, misidentified or having some type of flaw or defect. Those odds might be good for Vegas, but not, I suspect, for many philatelists. I should also point out, that the gentleman who wrote this article was buying from many of the big auction houses of the day, prior to the advent and proliferation of on-line auctions. In today's environment, where virtually anyone can be an auction house, the odds are probably less than even that you will get what you pay for when buying uncertified stamps. I've taken all the guesswork out of this one by procuring the certificate for you so you aren't left waiting and wondering if you got what you paid for.A word of caution about stamp grading software: I’ve seen stamp listings appearing recently with “certificates” that purport to assign a grade to a stamp being offered for sale. It is important to note that these are not certificates of authenticity. In fact, none of the “certificates” I have seen so far even list the Scott catalog number and with good reason, I suspect; the software developer does not want to be liable for their licensees’ possible misidentification of the graded stamp. There is much more to true stamp grading than centering. The first step in the process actually has nothing to do with centering at all. The first step is verifying that the stamp is genuine and correctly identified. It also has to be thoroughly examined for flaws, which may have an impact on the resulting grade. Therefore, it should also be understood that a grade assigned by a software program may not necessarily agree with a grade assigned by a qualified expertization service. After all, a software program can’t tell if a stamp is genuine, properly identified, if it has been reperforated, regummed, if it has inclusions, creases, thins, pinholes or any number of other faults that might negatively impact the final grade. So, if you’re only concerned with stamp centering then these programs and the printed documents they generate should do the job. If, on the other hand, you want to ensure that your stamps are properly identified and vetted, then you’ll probably want to stick with the tried-and-true method of human expertization and grading.About shipping: I combine shipping. Any other item purchased with this will ship at no additional charge. I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out by now that there’s no such thing as free shipping. Every seller who offers “free shipping” has already baked the shipping fees into the listing price. Which means you get to pay sales tax on everything including the “free shipping.” I price my items very competitively and charge a nominal shipping fee on the first item you purchase. Every additional item really does ship free as my price doesn’t include any kind of shipping or handling charges. In most cases, the catalog value of the stamps I use to ship your item(s) will exceed whatever you have paid for shipping, so in that respect, the shipping is just about a wash. A Little About Me and My Commitment to You I’ve been a regular member of the APS for over 40 years (member ID# 130461) and I’m still a collector more than anything. If you check my feedback history, you will find that not only is it pristine, but that I buy far more than I sell. One thing that really troubles me are sellers who just throw a stamp up for sale and don’t even take the time to offer a good description or a compelling reason why I should want to buy their item. As an experienced collector and seller, my commitment to you is that I will always provide a thoughtful and truthful commentary on all the relevant aspects of every stamp that I offer for sale/auction. And I will give you the bad as well as the good, though I try not to sell stamps that have problems. Where applicable, I will also do my best to impart any useful information on the stamp and any pitfalls buyers should be aware of. In the unlikely event that I have misidentified a stamp, I will gladly cover your costs of expertization* provided both the stamp and certificate are returned to me. As far as I know, I am the only seller that makes this guarantee. So bid/buy with confidence that what you will receive is exactly what I have described and if you feel it is not, that I will make the return process as pleasant as possible. You can also expect an interesting assortment of stamps adorning your shipment--no run-of-the-mill forever stamps or postage meter strips! See photo #8 for a sample of what you can expect. *I recognize the expert opinions of APEX, William Crowe, the PF, PSAG and PSE.
Seller Information
- Seller
- stephenwgill (213)
- Registered Since
- 03/06/2005
- Feedback
- 100%
- Store
- Ye Olde Post Office
- Item Location
- California, United States
- Ships To
- United States
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- Select Country
- Quantity
- Shipping Instructions
- About Shipping: I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out by now that there’s no such thing as free shipping. Every seller who offers “free shipping” has already baked the shipping fees into the listing price. Which means you get to pay sales tax on everything including the “free shipping.” I price my items very competitively and charge a nominal shipping fee on the first item you purchase. Every additional item really does ship free as my price doesn’t include any kind of shipping or handling charges. In most cases, the catalog value of the stamps I use to ship your item(s) will exceed whatever you have paid for shipping, so in that respect, the shipping is just about a wash.
- Returns Accepted
- Yes
- Returns Policy
- Returns accepted within 14 days on items not as described. Buyer to pay return shipping.
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