The New Amsterdam Collection of U.S. Rarities

The New Amsterdam Collection began over sixty years ago, back in the old (pre-internet) days. Our collector was on a mission to complete spaces in his newly acquired Scott National Postage Album. Over the years, while enjoying the philatelic journey and the resultant education, the quest continued, the means changed and some of those difficult spaces, especially Reprints, Reissues and Special Printings began to fill. When the rare, early 20th Century Coils became available, the opportunity to acquire them was not missed. Once the album achieved a fair degree of completion, the collector moved on to Inverted Centers, picking up an outstanding 1869 unused 30c Pictorial, 1c, 2c and 4c Pan-Americans, and of course an Inverted Jenny, every philatelist's dream.

When it became clear that a complete unused collection was not possible, the focus turned to the rare 1867 Grills. First came the 30c A.Grill (one of only 8 known), then a spectacular 3c B.Grill (accompanied by the original cover from Mason, Texas to Darmstadt, Germany, on which the only four known examples originated); on another occasion, the finest example of the 10c Z. Grill, followed by the iconic 15c Z.Grill (which like its famous counterpart 1c Z.Grill is one of only two in existence).

Much, if not most of the material was acquired through Bill and John Solomon of Dumont Stamp Company, an old established and respected dealership. Their well-known shop was located just around the corner from our current offices. Many of the stamps were accompanied by certificates from the American Philatelic Society Board of Examiners and the Philatelic Foundation. Since condition and expertizing standards have changed since the 1940s-1960s, we have re-submitted all individual items for updated re-examination. Every single lot in the New Amsterdam Collection is accompanied by a brand new 2019 Philatelic Foundation Certificate. The New Amsterdam Collection is the largest single collection ever submitted at one time to the Foundation for certification.

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I did while researching and preparing the lots for auction.