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Encased Postage Stamps,10¢, NORTH AMERICAN LIFE

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:3,750.00 USD Estimated At:5,500.00 - 7,500.00 USD
Encased Postage Stamps,10¢, NORTH AMERICAN LIFE
Encased Postage Stamps

Rarity-9 North American Life Insurance Company With Curved “INSURANCE” - The First We Have Offered

EP-125a, HB-196, S-143a, Reed-NA10CU. Ten Cents. NORTH AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. New York. Plain Frame with Curved “INSURANCE”. Choice Extremely Fine.

Rated as Rarity-9 (2 to 4 Known) by Fred Reed. This cataloger concurs with other Encased Postage experts, Michael Hodder and Leonard Glazer, who believe that number to be correct. This is the first EP-125a we have offered in over three and a half decades. This exact example has provenance from the Stack’s, John J. Ford, Jr. Collection Sale of June 2004, Lot 578 (no Ford insert tag present).
The bold deep green George Washington stamp has nice centering and is highly attractive, with just a hint of faint tone. The mica is perfectly clean, clear and unbroken with only a hint of light friction. The case is also extremely clean and smooth, having a lovely natural chestnut color with two areas of very dark tone at the left and bottom reverse edge. All of the legends are sharp and clear with excellent detail. Considering the many merchant rarities we have offered, such as Claflin, B.F. Miles and Drink Sands Ale, the fact that this is the very first specimen of its type that we have ever offered, is of real significance.