Colgan's "proofs"

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Posted By: Mark Macrae

Dan......Your points are well researched, thought out and phrased & I agree with your position. I've collected a similar quantity as you have. A question I would pose for you & readers.... Have you ever found any from 'outside the hobby' in the possession of the original owner or family that collected them ?..... If you have, did you 'interview' the family as to what they may know about the issue or the region that they were originally collected in ?...This is one of the VERY few issues that I have personally acquired all of the examples in my collection from 'inside the hobby'. In the case of the other Colgans' issues, I've brought more than five thousand into the hobby, many from the Northern California area (One of the original marketing areas for Colgans). These would include Tin Tops, Red borders and (mostly) Stars of the Diamond..... I'd forgotten about the reference to this issue in Rich Egan's "E" card handbook, but I checked this morning & you're right (No surprise). As Rob points out, many collectors demand that a set be 'named'. Until a point in time where we have more supporting evidence, they will probably continue to be improperly labeled as proofs..... Mark