# 542-44 - 1920-22 1c Washington, Green, Experimental Rotary Press Sheet Stamps with Complimentary Album Pages

Own a Major 20th Century Rarity…

(For thousands less than current market prices!)

US #544 is one of the rarest 20th century US stamps.  It’s the first perforated 11 sheet stamp to be printed on a rotary press, a landmark in philately. 

Created amid secrecy and scandal at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, #544 went undetected by collectors for 14 years.  Now you can get it for your collection, at far less than its true market value!  I’m excited to share this stamp and its story with you...

Fewer Than 30 Known to Exist Worldwide in Mint Condition

This stamp is so rare we’ve never owned one before.  Now you can be one of the few lucky collectors to own an unused #544.  And even better... with sought-after fine centering... unusual for the issue.  The stamp has a nice, fresh impression and color with only tiny imperfections, like a minor gum disturbance.

Special Purchase Makes this Once-in-a-Lifetime Offer Possible

(And it comes with some nice free extras)

Mystic buyers were able to obtain a precious few of the elusive #544.  Because of that, I can offer the stamp to you at an exceptionally low price compared with its market value.  A price that saves you thousands of dollars off current selling prices...  In fact, $29,000 less than a recently sold example in only slightly finer condition.  Your price is just $12,500.  Expensive?  Certainly!  Worth It?  Absolutely!  And to make it easier to own, you can choose three interest-free time payments.

I know you’re a serious collector who will appreciate the stamp’s importance, enjoy its history, and preserve it for future generations.  Take advantage of this chance to acquire #544 and I’ll send you unused #542 and #543 rotary stamps.  Plus replacement pages for both Heirloom and Hingeless albums to display your new stamps, all for free.  Your #544 stamp will come encapsulated in archival-quality material to keep it safe.

Unannounced and Undiscovered

A 100-year-old stamp that went unnoticed from 1922 until 1936!

Rotary sheet stamps began life as a secret experiment at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  Though #544 made its appearance in 1922, collectors didn’t become aware of its existence until the mid-thirties.  Unlike most stamps, there were no First Day of Issue announcements by the Post Office Department.  And no announcements in the stamp papers of the 1920s either.  Here’s its story...

Turmoil at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving

The year was 1919.  The BEP had already successfully printed coil stamps on the speedy rotary press.  So it decided to experiment with a larger press to print 400-subject sheets of perforated definitives.  The stamps in that first printing were perforated 10x11.  Once they hit post offices, complaints rolled in. The stamps (#542) curled backward and split along the vertical perforations.  The next year 10x10 perforations were tested, creating #543.  These also curled, making them hard for postal clerks to handle and next to impossible to precancel.  Production was halted.

Orders from the Post Office Department piled up, revenue was lost.  Rotary press designer Benjamin Stickney and other BEP workers were fired due to a fabricated Liberty Bond scandal.  Only after compromise by all and input from the Treasury Department were the issues solved.  The POD would pay more than expected and accept some rotary press stamps.  But the stamps would be canceled at the Bureau, instead of post offices.  Rotary press production was restarted.  Late 1922 saw a small quantity of perf 11 #544s printed on perf 10 and 10x11 remainder sheets, and released to the public with no fanfare.

And that’s just a glimpse of the tangled, behind-the-scenes story of the 1919-22 rotary stamps...

Your satisfaction is guaranteed – so you can order with confidence!

You must be completely satisfied with your #544 stamp.  If not, simply return it to us within 90 days and we’ll gladly issue you a credit voucher or refund, whichever you prefer.  As always, thanks so much for choosing Mystic.  We appreciate you.

I hope you’ll make your decision to own this rare stamp soon, before the few we have in our possession are gone.  Less than 30 collectors world-wide can own a rare unused #544.  This is your opportunity to own it for thousands of dollars less than it’s worth on the market today.  A chance like this will likely never come around again…