Impression from the original Archer & Daly steel plate. The cracked steel plate was in the possession of August Dietz and this impression was included as the centerpiece of the deluxe version of his 1929 opus, The Postal Service of The Confederate States of America.  The soft piece of steel shows an intaglio of Archer & Daly’s 10¢ and appears to have served as a matrix for trial impressions of the 20¢ transfer roll as well as parts of a 20¢ note of the Planters Insurance Trust and Loan Company. Archer & Daly produced a number of Southern banknotes. There is a faint bend at one end of the impression. A wonderfully collectible showpiece. $150.

Baltimore Section and Columbus Section of Ten Cent Altered plate – proof of each on opposite sides of paper. The altered plates, the 2¢ and the 10¢, were shipped through the blockade to Richmond. De La Rue did not print any stamps from these plates. When the plates arrived in the Confederacy, they were never used by the Confederacy. The subsequent history is speculation. One theory is that they were were captured by the North during battle. Supposedly, a federal soldier took the 10¢ altered plate and cut it into sections to give as Rebel souvenirs to friends. According to August Dietz. Frank Baptist - who printed the 5-cent stamps for Archer & Daly in 1863 - positively identified the plates. He superintended the souvenir printings of the Altered Plate. The "Columbus Section" was so called because it was moved to the Ohio State Museum in Columbus. Through the years, there have been many printings from various sections of the original plate. The Columbus Section is one of the most well known and common, the Baltimore section much more scarce. $100.

Click on thumbnails at left individually to enlarge. You will immediately note the differences in the two sections / sides - see the "notches" at left on the Columbus section.

Dietz PP1, 2¢ green "altered plate". The 2¢ Altered Plate was discovered intact in Southern Louisiana and announced by August Dietz in the November, 1926 issue of The Southern Philatelist. To this day only a few printings or impressions have been made from the 2¢ plate. This is the original Dietz printing on better paper, not the inferior APS printing of later years. This is a full sheet of 400, no gum as issued. Extra shipping/handling applies; will be sent rolled in a tube. 1986 New Dietz Catalog value $400. Also listed in CSA #14 section

CSA #6TC1, 1862 5¢ black trial color die proof in black on full glazed card, 92 x 61 mm, minor soiling, still Very Fine and Scarce, 2011 SCV $900. $1,000.

CSA #6TC1, 1862 5¢ black trial color die proof in black on glazed card, cut to stamp size  and mounted on small card, bit of edge staining but still Very Fine and Scarce, 2011 SCV $900. $550.

CSA #6, 5¢ blue, De La Rue plate proof on wove, block of 4, positions C26-C27 / C36-37 as indicated lightly in pencil by Robson Lowe and also lightly signed by him in pencil on verso; ungummed as printed, fresh, light wrinkling otherwise Very Fine, with photocopy of 1976 P.F. certificate for the only known sheet of 400. Lowe discovered the sheet hanging on the wall of the De La Rue offices. 2011 SCV $600 as singles. $700.

CSA #6TC1, 5¢ black De La Rue Trial Color Die Proof on glazed card, 92 x 60mm, deep shade, Very Fine, with 1999 CSA certificate #03399, 2012 SCV $900.  $1,100.

CSA #6P1, 5¢ blue De La Rue Die Proof on glazed card, cut down and mounted on card, minor foxing around the edge otherwise Very Fine, 2012 SCV $600 as full size (undercataloged)  $650.

CSA 1¢ orange De La Rue Plate Proof on stamp paper, bottom sheet margin copy. (Scott calls this #14TC5, De La Rue Trial Color Die Proof on Wove paper but De La Rue itself considers it a plate proof, never gummed – very similar to the issued color, if not identical). Found framed at a De La Rue office in 1976 by Robson Lowe, it is accompanied by a new copy of 1976 PF certificate 057582-01 as “#14, 1¢ orange plate proof in sheet of two panes”. Extremely Fine. 2012 SCV $800.  $800.

CSA #6P5, pair 5¢ blue plate proof, positions D66-67 from the only known sheet (since broken up), right stamp signed by Robson Lowe and a copy of the 1976 PF Certificate for the discovery sheet at the time, 2011 SCV $300+ as singles. The proof has a yellow cast compared to the regular issues, but is most difficult to determine without a reference copy. The Robson Lowe signature and copy of the certificate are the surest signs of proof status. $350.