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Auction: SW1009A - The Collector's Series
Lot: 142

1849, 1fr. light carmine on yellowish, tête-bêche, a showpiece unused horizontal "face to face" tête-bêche pair, featuring strikingly intense colour on fresh paper, ample to mostly large margins all around. The inverted cliché comes only from position 35 from the first plate used to print the 1fr. value. Illustrated in the 2000 Yvert Speciliazed catalogue. This spectacular pair, which has graced several of the finest collections of classic French stamps ever formed, is widely regarded as one of the greatest 1849-50 Cérès issues tête-bêche rarities extant, with only four unused examples recorded. One of the key items of French philately. Cert. Bernard and Pascal Behr, Aime and Jean-François Brun, Goebel, signed Aime Brun, Calves and Roumet. Maury 9a. Ex Ferrari, Hind, "Lafayette" collection and Gross.

Sold for
€130,000