A genuine (vintage) Clark Gruber & Co. item for less than $5.
dcarr
Posts: 9,109 ✭✭✭✭✭
Yes, they are out there. I found and bought this on the internet recently. The total cost with shipping was less than $5.
However, a realistic value on something like this is not very high, perhaps about $30.
The stamp is in pretty nice condition and undamaged. Too bad it is not still affixed to the original document, whatever that was.
Often, the worst enemy of stamps is stamp collectors.
First Issue Revenue stamp, 5-cent Inland Exchange, Scott # R27c.
Round cancel "Clark Gruber & Co. - AUG 4 1863".
27
Comments
Gimme Gimme
God comes first in everything I do. I’m dedicated to serving Him with my whole life. Coin collecting is just a hobby—but even in that, I seek to honor Him. ✝️
Hey, that's pretty cool.
Nice find !
Nice pickup!
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Cool. Reminds me of how I had a Panama-Pacific Exposition postcard (complete with a 1915 airplane in the sky!), since I couldn't afford one of the octagonal fifties.
Way cool to see
Cool!
What business were they doing in August of 1863, having sold the Mint to the Feds? Assay Office?
Nice
Cool! As i’m sure you know there are philatelists that collect only cancellations, i find this part of the hobby way more interesting than stamps themselves.
A quick peek discloses that CG operated as a bank after they sold the mint then dissolved in 1864. (One of their bank notes would be a nice adjunct,). Perhaps a philatelist could chime in.
are you sure you should not post your stamp and related questions at the Stamp forum?
this is mainly a numismatic forum. coins etc....
I just found that a CG note sold last month on GC for $187k. Yikes.
The history of Clark Gruber is of great interest to numismatists. Do your homework.
And now it's a numismatic thread.
Yes, I surrendered the old fatty, but there are times where it's appropriate. Took a couple tries with specified 64+ minimum, back to sticker-world now.
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Really.
I think you are nitpicking. This is tangentially coin related and there might be three people on the stamp forum every year.
You're kidding, right?
Cool!
And original Carson City Mint silver dollar bags should be posted in the Laundry Forum!!!
This is a numismatic related item
Sorry people...
I had NO idea who this Clark Gruber person is!!!
I thouht the OP was posting about a stamp..
sorry for not knowing.
You did nothing wrong.
The stamp has a limited value- the cancellation which looks nearly complete and reasonably clear and centered on the stamp creates value. I am not certain what that value is but it could be more than $30.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Can someone explain why Clark Gruber has cancelled a stamp? In 1863 they appear to have been operating as a bank. Did firms pre-cancel back then?
It's a revenue stamp that was required to be placed on certain documents by the businesses themselves. They had to "cancel" the stamp once affixed. Many businesses would have just pen-canceled the stamp but CG obviously had a rubber stamp made.
The revenue stamps were a form of taxation by the government.
Good eye! Very cool
Thank you. Learned something today.
It's great to have associated pieces to go with the coins. Really brings them to life. Thanks for sharing
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I just found pictures of two other Gruber cancelled stamps that I have. These cost me more (about $20 each), but they have clearer markings. It is interesting that neither mentions "Clark". Instead, they are marked "E. H. GRUBER & CO. / LEAVENWORTH KAN." One is dated "1864". The "E.H." is for Emanuel Henry, of course.
PS:
I had read some historical accounts that have Emanuel Henry Gruber getting involved with mining companies in Leadville Colorado in the early 1880s. I later found this stock certificate that was signed three times by Mr. Gruber: as the owner of the shares; as the president of the company; and endorsement on the back. So this was Gruber's personal certificate. It didn't cost a lot because the seller and other bidders did not make the connection:
Gruber lived until 1913 (80 years of age). After Leadville played out, he apparently relocated to the new boom town in Colorado - Cripple Creek. Here is an 1894 Cripple Creek bank check signed twice by him: as payee; and endorsed on the back. This one also did not cost much because, once again, the seller did not realize the full significance. It also happens to be serial number "1"
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