Toppan, Carpenter & Co.
1860
$5,500.00
This Trial Color Large Die Essay in Black Has Never Before Been on the Market,
and is the Only Known Copy on Full Size Card
This proof is the only known example of the 30¢ stamp of 1860 printed contemporaneously with actual production of this stamp in 1860. The only other on-card copy was likely to have been produced in 1903 by the BEP, in preparation for the Roosevelt Small Die Proof albums.
This item is both an essay and a proof. It has also been classified as a trial color proof given the orange color of the stamp as actually issued. To summarize, this item reflects the design and the color originally approved by the POD in 1860, thus a proof in the originally approved color (black). However, the bottom frame lines form ‘arrowheads’ pointing in opposite directions, a design feature never seen in the issued stamps. Thus this item is also an essay as the design differs from the stamp as issued.
Its historical classification as a trial color proof can only be justified in light of later developments, when the POD changed its mind and had the stamp issued in orange. But this doesn’t change the fact that when this item printed, the approved color was black.
Razor sharp impression.
SCV $5000
