Stamp Investment Tip: Hawaii 1893 Red Provisional Government Overprints (Scott #53-64)

In 1893, following the contrived planter's rebellion that ultimately resulted in Hawaii's annexation by the U.S., Hawaii overprinted some of its earlier 1883-86 Kingdom stamps for use by its new provisional government (Scott #53-64). Many of the stamps of this set are scarce and undervalued, and #61B is rare. I've listed the better stamps, along with their Scott '11 values for unused and printing quantities, below:

• -1893 1c Purple (Scott #53; Scott ' 11CV = $9.00- $21.50NH ; 62,500 issued)
• -1893 1c Blue (Sc. #54; SCV = $9.00-$21.50 NH ; 75,000 issued)
• -1893 2c Brown (Sc.#56; SCV= $12.00-$28.50 NH:37,500 issued)
• -1893 5c Deep Indigo (Sc.#58; SCV=$13.00- $32.00 NH : 46,350 issued)
• -1893 6c Green (Sc. #60; SCV = $17.50-$40.00 NH : 39,950 issued)
• -1893 10c Black (Sc. #61; SCV=$13.00- $30.00 NH ; 50,000 issued)
• -1893 10c Red Brown (Sc. #61B; SCV= $ 14,000.00; 50 issued)
• -1893 12c Black (Sc. #62; SCV= $12.00-$30.00 NH : 20,831 issued)
• -1893 12c Red Lilac (Sc. #63;SCV= $ 165.00- $400.00 NH;7,500 issued)
• -1893 25c Dark Violet (Sc. #64; SCV=$32.00- $72.00 NH ; 25,000 issued)

It is surprising that there are still many undervalued stamps of Hawaii, given that it's the most popular U.S. Possession among U.S. collectors, and that it is an important cultural and economic nexus between the U.S. and the Far East.

Many of the definitives of the Kingdom Period and the later Provisional Government overprints may be found well centered. As the P.S.E. (Professional Stamp Experts organization) now grades U.S. Possessions stamps, I advise selecting for condition and centering when purchasing them. Should the current grading fetish persist, Hawaiian stamps that grade XF-90 or higher will sell at auction for multiples of their catalog value.