U.S. #491 Used SFE Railroad Perfin w/ PSE XF-90 Cert

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

491

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Used

Centering

XF

Stamp Format

Single

Year of Issue

1916

Item Description

Condition: Used, certified, XF-90

Grade: XF (Extremely Fine)
You may be looking at one of the rarest U.S. stamps in existence. Sure, there are plenty of #491 stamps graded XF90 and higher. But, as far as I have been able to determine, this is the only one with a perfin. I have scoured the online archives of the Philatelic Foundation, The American Philatelic Expertizing Service, PSAG and Professional Stamp Experts and this is the only certified example I have found. As a perfin, this particular SFE design (pattern S123) was used by the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. between 1914 and 1917 and is considered a D+ perfin. But on a #491 graded XF90, it appears to be one of a kind.

There are a lot of U.S. stamps that should never be purchased without a certificate of authenticity and high on that list is #491. First, there are fakes out there (see photo 4 from the PF archives for one documented example). Second, #491 is a very scarce stamp. Over the last 13 years, PSE has only certified 113 #491's as genuine (72 used and 41 mint). By contrast, they have certified 294 #454's and 189 #453 as genuine, many of which were submitted as #491 (see images 5 & 6 for a sampling of PF certs for stamps that were submitted as #491 but turned out to be various other catalog numbers). The watermarks on these old coils can be terribly elusive and require the trained eye of a true expert to certify. Uncertified #491's are simply space-fillers. This one has been examined by PSE and declared genuine (see photo 3).

A Little Bit About Me and my Commitment to You

I have been a regular member of the APS for over 40 years (member ID# 130461) and I’m still a collector more than anything. If you check my feedback history, you will find that not only is it pristine, but that I buy far more than I sell. One thing that really troubles me are sellers who just throw a stamp up for sale and don’t even take the time to offer a good description or a compelling reason why I should want to buy their item. As an experienced collector and seller, my commitment to you is that I will always provide a thoughtful and truthful commentary on all the relevant aspects of every stamp that I offer for sale/auction. And I will give you the bad as well as the good, though I try not to sell stamps that have problems. Where applicable, I will also do my best to impart any useful information on the stamp and any pitfalls buyers should be aware of. In the unlikely event that I have misidentified a stamp, I will gladly cover your costs of expertization* provided both the stamp and certificate are returned to me. As far as I know, I am the only seller that makes this guarantee. So bid/buy with confidence that what you will receive is exactly what I have described and if you feel it is not, that I will make the return process as pleasant as possible. You can also expect an interesting assortment of stamps adorning your shipment--no run-of-the-mill forever stamps or postage meter strips! See photo #7 for a sample of what you can expect.

*I recognize the expert opinions of APEX, William Crowe, the PF, PSAG and PSE.

Seller Information

Seller

stephenwgill (261)

Registered Since

03/06/2005

Feedback

100%

Store

Ye Olde Post Office

• Offers
• Sales

Item Location

California, United States

Ships To

United States

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

Money Back - Returns Accepted within 30 Days (Buyer pays Shipping Cost)