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| Z Grill | |
|---|---|
 New York Public Library Benjamin Miller Collection |
|
| Country of production:: | United States |
| Location of production | |
| Date of production | 1868 |
| Nature of rarity | Limited number |
| Estimated existence | 2 |
| Face value | 1-cent US |
| Estimated value | US $3,000,000 |
The Benjamin Franklin Z Grill, or simply Z Grill, is a 1-cent postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1868 depicting Benjamin Franklin. While stamps of this design were the common 1-cent stamps of the 1860s, the Z Grill is distinguished by having the so-called "Z" variety of a grill pressed into the stamp. The 1-cent Z Grill is generally considered the rarest and most valuable of all US postage stamps.
The purpose of the grill was to permit the canceling ink to be better absorbed into the stamp paper, thus preventing reuse of stamps by washing out the cancellation marks. The use of grills was not found to be practical and they were soon discontinued.
There are currently only two known 1-cent 1868 Z-Grills.1 One is owned by the New York Public Library as part of the Benjamin Miller Collection. This leaves only a single 1-cent 1868 Z-Grill in private hands.
This 1868 1 cent "Z-Grill" stamp sold for $935,000 in 1998 to Mystic Stamp Company, a stamp dealer.2 Siegel Auctions auctioned the stamp as part of the Robert Zoellner collection. Zachary Sundman, the eleven-year-old son of Mystic Stamp Company President Donald Sundman, was the individual responsible for wielding the paddle and doing the actual bidding.
Later, in late October 2005, Sundman traded this Z Grill to financier Bill Gross for a block of four Inverted Jenny stamps worth nearly $3 million.2 By completing this trade Gross became the owner of the only complete collection of U.S. 19th century stamps.
Both the Z Grills were on display at the National Postal Museum along with the first part of the Benjamin Miller Collection from 27 May 2006 till 1 October 2007. 3
References
- ^ "Rare and Costly Stamps to Go on Display", Washington Post (2005-05-25). Retrieved on 8 August 2006.
- ^ a b "Philatelists Make $3 Million Trade", NPR (2005-11-02). Retrieved on 8 August 2006.
- ^ "The Benjamin K Miller Collection", National Postal Museum. Retrieved on 8 August 2006.
External links
- Classification and photos of grills of US stamps
- More information about the Benjamin Franklin 1-cent Z Grill (Flash)
See also
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 7 November 2008, at 23:28.
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