US 40c Philip Mazzei airmail stamp
I think most worldwide (and US) collectors recognize the US airmail postage stamp I’m writing today. In 1980 US post (along with Italian Post) issued a commemorative stamp to honor the 280th anniversary of Philip Mazzei’s birth. The stamp exists in two different perforations: 11¼ and 10½x11¼ (latter having over 10x catalog value to normal stamp).
In addition, there are plenty of (easy-to-find) flyspeck abnormalities. Once again, all of these can be IMHO considered normal, but “interesting” variations within printing process.
Below are some examples with “floating” text:
US 1980 Philip Mazzei 40c airmail postage stamp. Michel #1449 A (cat. value 0.40€) / Scott C98 - notice how the end of word "Airmail" floats separately in two latter stamps.
I also have found a pair where the airplane silhouette has an additional blue shadow caused by shift in light blue color:
US 1980 Philip Mazzei 40c airmail postage stamp. Michel #1449 F(cat. value 5€) - Airplane silhouette with "shadow"
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Nice stamp, it was one of my first US stamps, and also one of the first I could understand when I was learning English..
“Philip Mazzei – Patriot remembered” was the kind of text I would expect on a stamp to make sense.
Personally I love the historical stories behind the stamps. I confess that I didn’t know anything about Philip Mazzei (besides being some kind of US patriot) before writing this entry; now I know quite a lot about the history “All men are created equal” phrase as well as the role that Italians (like Mazzei) played during the American Revolutionary War.
I have two 40 cent Philip Mazzei airmail error stamps- what are they worth? Both stamps are in mint condition. Please e-mail if you know
@Lawrence… Without a picture I have zero way to tell what you have. So please upload a picture of your stamps somewhere online (like Picasa, Flickr,Photobucket etc) , and share the URL with me.
But as a general guideline, I’d first check the perforation of your stamp – is it 11¼:11¼ or 10½:11¼ . If latter, then You can congratulate yourself. You have got a rarer perf type of this stamp (worth 5-10$ on eBay etc). If not, then Your stamp is likely worth it’s face value.
The rest depends on the type of error Your stamps have and the supply/demand. For example the copies displayed above are somewhat common, and I don’t expect them to bear any additional value to the stamps I have.
best,
-keijo-
would a block of 4 phillip mazzei in any way be worth a $1000 or is this wishful thinking, I notice thru lots of research its rarity that is important not just misprints
as there can be lots of misprints in circulation.
@Jim… I’m not a dealer/auctioneer, so I’m not a right person to say anything about “real world” prices… But I would assume that anythings possible if the conditions are correct (meaning a spectacular looking unique EFO and several interested buyers).