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Information about Z Grill

Z-Grill

New York Public Library
Benjamin Miller Collection
Country of productionUnited States
Location of production
Date of production1868
Nature of rarityLimited number
Estimated existence2
Face value1-cent US
Estimated valueUS $3,000,000


The Benjamin Franklin Z-Grill is a 1-cent postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1868 depicting Benjamin Franklin. With the embossed "Z-Grill" "waffle" on the back, this is considered the rarest and most valuable US stamp. A "Z-Grill" is a specific pattern of tiny squares embossed into the paper and visible on the back of the stamps.

The purpose of the grills was to permit the canceling ink to be absorbed into the stamp paper, thus preventing those who wanted to from cheating the postal service by washing out 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. [3] By completing this trade Gross became the owner of the only complete collection of U.S. 19th century stamps.

Both the Z Grills will be 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. [4]

References

1. ^ "Rare and Costly Stamps to Go on Display", Washington Post, 2005-05-25. Retrieved on 2006-08-08. 
2. ^ "Philatelists Make $3 Million Trade", NPR, 2005-11-02. Retrieved on 2006-08-08. 
3. ^ "Philatelists Make $3 Million Trade", NPR, 2005-11-02. Retrieved on 2006-08-08. 
4. ^ "The Benjamin K Miller Collection", National Postal Museum. Retrieved on 2006-08-08. 

External links

See also

New York Public Library

Location New York, New York
Established 1895
Number of branches 87
Population served 8,143,198 (New York City)
Budget $50,171,798
Director Paul LeClerc
Employees 3,147
Website [1]

The New York Public Library
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The Benjamin K Miller Collection is a unique collection of stamps and other philatelic materials donated to The New York Public Library in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857-1928) [1]. This collection was the first complete collection of U.S.
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United States dollar
dólar estadounidense (Spanish)
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A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. Usually a small paper rectangle or square that is attached to an envelope, the postage stamp signifies that the person sending the letter or package may have either fully, or perhaps partly, pre-paid for delivery.
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United States Postal Service

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waffle is a light batter cake cooked in a waffle iron, between two hot plates, patterned to give a distinctive shape.

Varieties of waffle

  • The Belgian Waffle (the common variety is the "Brussels waffle"[1]

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A grill on a postage stamp is an embossed pattern of small indentations intended to discourage postage stamp reuse. They were supposed to work by allowing the ink of the cancellation to be absorbed more readily by the fibers of the stamp paper, making it harder to wash off
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New York Public Library

Location New York, New York
Established 1895
Number of branches 87
Population served 8,143,198 (New York City)
Budget $50,171,798
Director Paul LeClerc
Employees 3,147
Website [1]

The New York Public Library
..... Click the link for more information.
The Benjamin K Miller Collection is a unique collection of stamps and other philatelic materials donated to The New York Public Library in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857-1928) [1]. This collection was the first complete collection of U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Mystic Stamp Company, based in Camden, New York, since 1923, is a mail-order postage stamp dealer, one of the largest in operation and notable for both its promotion of stamp collecting as a hobby and for its acquisition of the Z Grill, the rarest United States stamp.
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A Stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in postage stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or official stamps for use on court documents.
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Robert Zoellner is a stamp collector who achieved fame as the only person ever to have formed a complete collection of United States postage stamps. As of November 2005, one other person, William H. Gross, has also formed a complete collection of US postage stamps.
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The Mystic Stamp Company, based in Camden, New York, since 1923, is a mail-order postage stamp dealer, one of the largest in operation and notable for both its promotion of stamp collecting as a hobby and for its acquisition of the Z Grill, the rarest United States stamp.
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News collections and sources

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William H. Gross is an American financial manager and investment author.

He was born in Middletown, Ohio, and graduated from Duke University. He served in the Navy, and earned an MBA from UCLA.
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The inverted Jenny (or Jenny Invert) is a United States postage stamp of 1918 in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design was accidentally printed upside-down; it is probably the most famous error in American philately.
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National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., USA, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993.
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The Benjamin K Miller Collection is a unique collection of stamps and other philatelic materials donated to The New York Public Library in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857-1928) [1]. This collection was the first complete collection of U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
May 27 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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This is a list of postage stamps that are especially notable in some way.

The best-known stamps:
  • Treskilling Yellow (Sweden)
  • Penny Black (Britain)
  • Blue Penny (Mauritius)
  • Inverted Jenny (U.S.

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