Lot 352 United States Of America #63a 1c Ultramarine Benjamin Franklin, 1861-1868 Civil War Issue, A VG Used Single With Scarcer Red Cancel

A VG used single of the 1c ultramarine Benjamin Franklin from the 1861-1868 Civil War Issue with scarcer red cancel. This is a tricky shade that normally requires a certificate to be certain it has been identified correctly. I don't have one, but I have checked the shade against images on Swedish Tiger, and on E-bay for certified examples and it appears to be a match, though none of the images, including those on Swedish Tiger comport with what I, as an experienced philatelist, understand ultramarine to look like.

2016 Scott Specialized values this at $865 for VF. Our estimate for this condition is $215. The stamp offered here grades 60 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 20/60

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10