U.S. & Worldwide Stamps & Postal History

1861 1c, 3c, 12c, 30c and 90c, five different Panama-Pacific small die proofs, large margins all around, usual light toning and thin spots, otherwise v.f. and scarce, only 3-5 of each issued (from February 20 to December 4, 1915, the Panama-Pacific Exposition was held in San Francisco, to commemorate Balboa's discovery of the Pacific Ocean and to celebrate the opening of one of mankind's greatest engineering achievements, the Panama Canal. The Post Office Department decided to prepare a limited number of proof sets showing every United States stamp printed up to the time of the exposition. A total of 413 different designs were made. Only two sets were officially prepared, but it is widely recognized that between three and five of each were made. These included Officials, Newspapers and Periodicals, Philippines and other special use stamps),
Cat. Val. $13,750
Estimate: $2500