Outstanding United States Stamps continued...

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. THIS IS THE ONLY CONFIRMED AND CERTIFIED EXAMPLE OF THE 1870 12-CENT NATIONAL BANK NOTE ISSUE WITH THE I GRILL. ONE OF THE GREAT RARITIES OF THE BANK NOTE ISSUE, WHICH MAY ONE DAY BECOME A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF MAJOR SCOTT-LISTED UNITED STATES STAMPS.

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At least two sizes of grills were used by the National Bank Note Company for the 1870 Issue. They are identified by Scott Catalogue by a notation prior to Scott 134, which assigns them the letters H and I. However, to date they have not been separately catalogued, as have the different grills used in 1867 and 1868 (A, B, C, D, Z, E and F Grills). The G Grill was used on the 1869 Pictorial Issue.

The H Grill is larger than the I Grill, measuring approximately 11-13 points wide by 14-16 points tall when the full dimensions are visible. It is found on all values from the 1c thru the 90c. The I Grill measures from 9-11 points wide by 10-13 points tall. It is often a stronger grill impression (though many times incomplete). Students also distinguish between early and late states of the grilling device. The sizes of the grills remained the same in both states, but the characteristics of the grill points changed in different ways as the device wore away. The early state I Grill, as in the stamp offered here, has a very distinct shape to the grill points.

In 2004 we started to distinguish between the H and I Grills in our catalogue descriptions and research, in an effort to establish relative scarcity. The 1c thru 7c makes up the bulk of the population of the I Grill, but it is also known on the 10c (approximately a dozen used known), 12c (one certified unused copy offered here and another unused example reported by Ron Burns), 15c (3 unused and 11 used known) and the 90c (3 used known). The recently-discovered 30c I Grill -- the listing copy -- is offered in the following lot and fills in a gap, leaving only the 24c value to be discovered with the I Grill.

If the Scott Catalogue editors were to be consistent in their listing policy of grills across all issues, then they would separate the H and I Grills into major catalogue numbers, as they do for the 1867-68 Grilled Issue. If this were to occur, then the rare Bank Note I Grills would take their place alongside other grilled-stamp rarities such as Nos. 80, 81, 82, 85A, 85D and 85F.

Ex Edward H. R. Green and Col. Aisenstadt. With 1957 A.P.S. certificate not specifying grill type. With 2011 P.F. certificate. Accompanied by a note and analysis by Ronald A. Burns, one of the foremost authorities on the Bank Note grills, who points out that this may be the 12c I Grill reported by J. B. Leavy in 1897. Scott Retail as normal grill, with no premium for the I Grill. (Image)

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FRESH AND FINE. THIS IS A NEWLY-DISCOVERED 1870 30-CENT NATIONAL BANK NOTE COMPANY ISSUE WITH THE I GRILL. AS SUCH, IT IS UNIQUE AND MAY ONE DAY BE A KEY TO A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES STAMPS.

At least two sizes of grills were used by the National Bank Note Company for the 1870 Issue. They are identified by Scott Catalogue by a notation prior to Scott 134, which assigns them the letters H and I. However, to date they have not been separately catalogued, as have the different grills used in 1867 and 1868 (A, B, C, D, Z, E and F Grills). The G Grill was used on the 1869 Pictorial Issue.

The H Grill is larger than the I Grill, measuring approximately 11-13 points wide by 14-16 points tall when the full dimensions are visible. It is found on all values from the 1c thru the 90c. The I Grill measures from 9-11 points wide by 10-13 points tall. It is often a stronger grill impression (though many times incomplete). Students also distinguish between early and late states of the grilling device. The sizes of the grills remained the same in both states, but the characteristics of the grill points changed in different ways as the device wore away. The early state I Grill, as in the stamp offered here, has a very distinct shape to the grill points.

In 2004 we started to distinguish between the H and I Grills in our catalogue descriptions and research, in an effort to establish relative scarcity. The 1c thru 7c makes up the bulk of the population of the I Grill, but it is also known on the 10c (approximately a dozen used known), 12c (one confirmed unused copy offered here and another reported unused example), 15c (3 unused and 11 used known) and the 90c (3 used known). The recently-discovered 30c I Grill -- the listing copy offered here -- fills in a gap, leaving only the 24c value to be discovered with the I Grill.

If the Scott Catalogue editors were to be consistent in their listing policy of grills across all issues, then they would separate the H and I Grills into major catalogue numbers, as they do for the 1867-68 Grilled Issue. If this were to occur, then the rare Bank Note I Grills would take their place alongside other grilled-stamp rarities such as Nos. 80, 81, 82, 85A, 85D and 85F.

With 2011 P.F. certificate. Accompanied by photographs with notes from Ronald A. Burns, one of the foremost authorities on the Bank Note grills. Scott Retail as normal grill, with no premium for the I Grill. (Image)

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