Philatelic News

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February 8th 2011

Around the houses

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Matthew Bennett International, United States ~ September 2010. The four sales achieved a sales rate of 93% at 20% over pre-sale estimates. Overall, the stamp market is showing renewed strength in a number of areas with the exception of the more common postal history as well as commercial and/or off-quality U.S. stamps. An 1847 (1875 Reproduction), 5¢ & 10¢, plate proofs on card (lot 165) realized $17,000 and an 1873, $2, $5 & $20 inverts, plate proofs on card (lot 268) realized $16,00. A Brattleboro postmaster’s provisional 1846, 5¢ black (lot 66) was sold by $18,000.

The Golden State Collection of U.S. stamps was widely perceived as a bellwether for not only graded material but for the health of the high-quality U.S. market in general. This section sale was all important with significant result. An 1893 $5 Columbus flawless centering within wide and balanced margins (Scott $10,500, lot 2048) made $80,000, an 1857-60 (1875 Reprint), 1¢ bright blue, perfectly centered within huge, balanced margins (lot 2006) made $9,500 and an 1867, 1¢ blue, E. grill, amazing centering within large margins for a 1¢ E grill (lot 2011) made $22,000.

The Harbour Auctions, US stamps and postal history, where an 1918 24c. ‘Jenny’ airmail stamp “fast plane” (lot 3906) made $800, from an expected $200-$300. An 1926, 15¢ Map & Planes, perfectly centered with wide beautifully balanced margins (lot 3911) made $2,400.

The Charles G. Firby stock, featuring British North America. An 1868 1c. brown red ‘Large Queen’ on laid paper (lot 5176) made $9,500, an 1861 Prince Edward Island 3d. blue ‘double impression’ with a tiny thin (lot 5045) realized $4,000 and a Canada imperf 1⁄2d. rose, very fine used with the major re-entry (lot 5108) sold for $3,750.

Cavendish Philatelic Auctions, United Kingdom ~ November 2010. The 24-25 auction in the auction rooms at Cavendish House saw hot competition for all categories. The first day’s sale –Worldwide Maritime Mail, Canadian Stamps and U.S. Confederate States mails– saw many sections 100% sold and all areas hotly contested with a large roomful of buyers, busy overseas telephone-bidders, and one of the strongest groups of ‘on-the-book’ bidders yet seen at Cavendish.

The ‘Malcolm Montgomery’ Collection of Canadian Mails saw the tiny 1781 Quebec “fhip” mark reach £5,382 ($8,659), the 1788 “AMERICAN PORT” make £3,510 ($5,647), and a whole range of other prestamp rarities top the £1,000 or £2,000 mark; the British buyers won the day with surprisingly few lots selling to North American collectors. The ‘Oakhill’ Transatlantic mails proved equally popular with many world-record prices: a rather unremarkable (but rare) 1840 SS ‘Unicorn’ cover achieved no less than £2,574 ($4,141) (lot 173; est. £150!), an 1840 pair of SS Britannia’ covers made £1,755 ($2,823) (lot 174; est. £300) – being just £100 more than an 1842/6 pair of ‘Unicorn’ covers (lot 179; est. £150) – while an 1842 SS ‘Britannia’ cover also reached £1,755 ($2,823) (lot 232; est. £150). The market for rare Transatlantic mails has clearly moved on since the Cavendish “Ian Little”, “Jack Tysk” and “Wysiwyg” auctions; there was hardly a lot left unsold from the 304 lots in these two superb collections.

The much-publicised 1801 signed autograph letter from Lord Nelson to Emma Hamilton (lot 308) also sold well, at £11,700 ($18,824) (the top price for the day), and the Antarctic Expedition covers were equally popular; e.g. the 1934-37 ingoing cover from GB to the “British Graham Land Expedition” at £3,042 ($4,894), and the similar 1936 cover at £1,872 ($3,011). Strong competition for the West Indies Postal History section was then followed by the very strong ‘Boisvert’ Collection of Canadian Stamps with the unused SG1a ‘Beaver’ soaring to £7,605 ($12,235) (lot 421) after strong competition from both sides of the Atlantic (in spite of its having conflicting certificates and being offered “as is”; clearly the Greene cert. was right and the BPA cert. was wrong!). All the Victorian issues up to 1898 went like hot cakes, and the 20th century material was equally in demand although the QEII period proved less popular (but the famous 1959 Seaway Invert still made £4,064).

The final section of Day One was the ‘Eiron Morgan’ Collection of U.S. Confederate States Postal History; only a couple of the 100 lots failed to find a new home, though much of the collection (understandably) will soon be on its way back across the Atlantic. Notable prices included the five Blockade-Runner covers (lots 602/3/4/6/7) that sold from triple estimate up to 10 times estimate - reaching £1,638, £1,053, £1,404, £1,755 & £2,223 ($2,635, $1,694, $2,258, $2,823 & $3,576) respectively - while the many POW and Patriotic envelopes sold very well.

The second day was equally hectic and had just as many surprises; the first lot – a good pair of Imperial albums – sped from an £1,800 estimate to £4,680 ($7,529) in the blink of an eye, and the whole “Collections” section went for well above estimates on average. One of the surprises of the week then followed with the enormous ‘Bernard Lucas’ collection of Pneumatic Mails of the world being 100% sold with fierce competition from the Continent and beyond for every lot; of the 53 lots (that included 1,000s of items in total; from Brazil and Argentina to France, Austria & the US) the highest prices paid were £643 ($1,034) each for lots 808 and 822 (early and later Paris lots) with the Marseilles collection close behind at £585 ($941). The later France lots also went well, except for the Railway material which proved surprisingly unfashionable.

The Foreign P.O.s in China brought equally high prices, notably £1,521 ($2,447) for a French POs group (lot 914; est. £200, and £1,111 ($1,787) for the unused collection of CEF Postal Stationery (lot 906; est. £140). The Egypt was rather ‘patchy’ but the small group of 20th century Hong Kong covers went very well as did a 1941 “Detained in Hong Kong” cover (lot 1083 reaching £760 ($1,222)), but with a small group of Revenues taking the top price at £994 ($1,599). The fine stamps of British East Africa and K.U.T sold out with the early overprint varieties and High Vale Specimens provoking extended bidding in the room and on the ‘book’; the 1919 KUT 4c on 6c strip with misplaced surcharge reached £994 ($1,599).

The GB section was very strongly supported (in spite of the ‘small’ GB sale in London on the same day!) with 1d Black covers achieving high prices; e.g. the “Amlwch/Penny Post” cancel (lot 1221) at £2,574 ($4,141) or the 8th May 1840 cover at £3,042 ($4,894), and the Plate 177 ‘dot below diadem’ 1d Red Imperf. fetching  double estimate at £1,872 ($3,011). Then a Mint Seahorses set (lot 1332) made £1,755 ($2,823) and the whole ‘Alan Wall’ KGV section exceeded all expectations. Finally, the G.B. Postal History was as strong as ever with 100% of the ‘Alan Wall’ Bristol going well above estimates, and even the Derbyshire section proving popular.

Grosvenor, United Kingdom ~ December 2010. All World Auction, held over two days on the 9th and 10th, achieved a total realisation of  £871,517 ($1,4m), over 20% above the pre-sale estimate for this sale. The following is a selection from amongst the many notable prices paid:

  • K.G.VI collection in 4 New Age albums (lot 2) realised £14,637 ($23,549).
  • The Colin Tabeart collection of Transatlantic Mail (lot 68) realised £8,998 ($14,476).
  • 1879 Tay Bridge Disaster cover (from the Jerry Santangelo Collection of Interrupted Mail, lot 151) realised £2,874 ($4,615).
  • Collections of Egypt Officials in 8 albums (lot 217) and British Forces in Egypt in 12 albums (lot 295), from the second part of the late Dennis Clarke collection of Egypt, realised £6,084 ($9,769) and £5,039 ($8,107) respectively.
  • Falkland Islands 1964 6d. H.M.S. Glasgow error (lot 375) realised £23,995 ($38,605).
  • South Georgia 1909 “SOUTH GEORGIA” imprint postcard (lot 478) realised £11,038 ($17,759).
  • British Bechuanaland 1888 1/2d. on 3d. broken “f’ variety (S.G. 29a) in mint block of four (lot 596) realised £13,797 ($22,155).
  • Great Britain 1877 Telegraph £5 orange superb mint (lot 1198) realised £14,997 ($24,128).
  • South Kensington Exhibition 1d. plate proof block of six (lot 1476) realised £5,758 ($9,264).

Sources
1. 2011, Matthew Bennett International website. Consulted 4/Feb/2011.
2. 2011, Cavendish Philatelic Auctions website. Consulted 4/Feb/2011.
3. 2011, Grosvenor website. Consulted 4/Feb/2011.

Posted at 8:00am and tagged with: United States, United Kingdom, auctions, two column,.

February 6th 2011

AmeriStamp Expo 2011: 11th to 13th February

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This three-day extravaganza of stamp collecting is one of the largest shows in the country and offers collecting fun for hobbyists at every level of experience. APS AmeriStamp Expo features more than seventy-five dealers, rarities on display, competitive exhibits, society meetings, and educational seminars.

Some of the nation’s finest and most famous collections will be on display within the aisles of frames. There are more than twenty-five seminars or meetings taking place over the course of the show. Attend one —or a dozen. It is a great way to learn and socialize with other collectors.

APS will hold a General Membership Meeting Saturday morning, February 12. Board members will present reports on the current state of the Society and there will be a Town Hall meeting, allowing attendees the chance to ask questions of their choosing.

For new collectors and those returning to the hobby, our Society’s Education Department offers a basic stamp collecting course called “Stamp Saturday”. Experts walk you through the basic tools and techniques, how to get the most from catalogues, how to care for your stamps and covers and much more. Young collectors can “get into it” in the Stamp Zone. Bring the whole family to learn about a fun hobby.

Venue
Charleston Convention Center
5001 Coliseum Drive
Charleston, South Carolina 29418.

Download the program to take advantage of the event.

Source
2011, AmeriStamp Expo 2011 Program. Consulted 6/Feb/2011.

Posted at 11:23am and tagged with: events, United States, two column,.

February 4th 2011

February’s Auctions

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Feb 8: Sandafayre (UK) ~ Worldwide auction #6183 featuring 5969 lots. Visit auctions’s site.

Feb 8-9: Cherrystone Auctions (US) ~ United States and worldwide large lots and collections. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 10: Cherrystone Auctions (US) ~  The “Aurora” Collection of R.S.F.S.R. with Rare Stamps & covers. All aspect of the issue including 1918 Proofs and Essays of the Chainbreakers Issue, 1921 Volga Famine Relief Issue, 1922 Definitives, 1923 Philately for Labor and much more. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 10: Roumet (FR) ~ French postal history including: War of 1870, Covers with all issues, “1849-1900”, Maritime post and specialities like Algérie, Cartes précurseurs, Comté de Nice, Corps expéditionnaires, Lettres illustrées, Palais, Poste française en Hollande, Rebuts and Savoie. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 15: Sandafayre (UK) ~ worldwide auction #7183 featuring 3605 lots. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 15: Antonio Torres (UK) ~ General postal history, stamps and collections Worldwide including: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium & Congo, Canada, Egypt, France & Colonies, Great Britain & Commonwealth, Japan, Marruecos, Portugal & Colonies, Ryukyu Islands, South Africa, Switzerland, USA and much more. No buyers premium on this sale. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 16: Stanley Gibbons (UK) ~ Collections & Ranges Auction #5859. Download catalogue.

Feb 17-18: Dorotheum (AT) ~  Classic Europe, Germany and Austria. Stamps and postal history. Visit auction’s site 17th and 18th.

Feb 17-19: Gert Mueller (DE) - Auction #66, all world with emphasis on Germany with single lots, collections and accumulations of stamp, covers, postcards & coins. All areas of German philately from Old German States, Reich, world Wars and occupation, Saar and German Colonies. From Europe are large sections of Swiss, Austria & Liechtenstein. European and Overseas countries are well represented. Many collections without start prices. Visit auction’s site.

Feb 22: CERES Philatélie (FR) ~ France, French Empire and Europe.

Feb 24-26: Felzmann Auctioneers (DE) ~ Acution #132. Germany, German Empire and Europe featuring 3586 lots. Visit auction’s site.

Posted at 7:54pm and tagged with: France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, auctions, two column, Austria,.

May 4th 2010

Spectacular Auction: Siegel auctioning the Steven C. Walske Collection of special mail routes of the American Civil War

3 notes |#

Special mail routes were used to exchange letters in the Confederate States of America (C.S.A.) and those across the military lines or frontiers separating the Confederacy from the rest of the world. These routes developed because the C.S.A. was almost completely surrounded militarily by the United States of America (U.S.), and an important Federal war strategy was to cut off all outside communications with the C.S.A.. These routes were used for mail between the C.S.A. and the U.S., for mail between parts of the C.S.A. separated by Federal military activities, and for mail between the Confederacy and other countries.
Postal history is the study of postal routes, rates, frankings and markings from a particular historical period. The best postal history reference sources are official postal regulations and documentation, such as instructions to postmasters or post office communications. However, the official record is invariably incomplete, so a census of covers relevant to the period can fill in the gaps by showing patterns of postal usages. The combination of a census with postal documentation, historical events and geography can be used to accurately re-create the details of a mail delivery system. This is the approach employed in the formation of this collection and in writing the related book, Special Mail Routes of the American Civil War: A Guide to Across-the-Lines Postal History by Steven C. Walske and Scott R. Trepel (referred to throughout this catalogue as Special Routes).

This collection is organized according to the routes used for across-the-lines mail. This represents a different perspective on the subject, and has resulted in new insights on how the mail was handled. For example, traditional studies have examined prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) mail from the perspective of the prisons themselves, while this collection arranges the covers according to the routes which carried P.O.W. mail to or from those prisons. Similarly, covers reflecting new discoveries and significant insights are offered for the first time with respect to suspended mail routes, blockade-run mail, trans-Rio Grande mail, and private express mail.
The Civil War began slowly with the peaceful secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860. At the time, most Americans assumed that the conflict would be resolved relatively quickly and peacefully. Virtually no one could project the four-year bloody struggle that ensued.
South Carolina’s path out of the Union was quickly followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. Each of these states acted separately, and their status after secession was as independent states. However, the official stance of the U.S. was that these states were still part of the Union. As such, these independent states continued to use the U.S. postal system for mail within each state and to or from external addresses.
Mail sent in the U.S. postal system between these states and the U.S. during their independent state periods should not be considered across-the-lines mail, since there were no impediments to the trans- mission of the mails prior to the suspension of U.S. postal service in the South. Nonetheless, postal uses during the independent state periods are popular with collectors because of the short timeframes (as few as six days in the case of North Carolina) that they were in effect.
Throughout this period, the U.S. continued to operate the C.S.A.’s postal system, but many postal routes between the U.S. and the C.S.A. had to be abandoned due to armed conflict and the threat that the ships, trains or wagons used to transport the mail would be confiscated. The most significant example of this was the closure of the primary north-south postal route which ran between Washington, D.C. and Richmond by the U.S. military occupation of Alexandria, Virginia, on May 24, 1861.
Mail continued to be exchanged along the other major north-south postal route between Tennessee and Louisville until June 1861. Private express companies also carried small amounts of letter mail between the C.S.A. and the U.S. during the February to May 1861 period that the U.S. postal system was still operating in the C.S.A.. Their service supplemented the regular post office service.
The U.S. postal service in the C.S.A. was finally suspended on May 31, 1861, four months after the formation of the C.S.A.. After this suspension, the regular north-south post office routes were replaced by a complex array of special mail routes that expanded as the war grew in intensity and duration. Because of the difficulty and danger in getting mail across enemy lines, many of these routes show great ingenuity, and most carried only small amounts of mail. These special routes fall into the following seven categories, and the collection presented is arranged accordingly:

 

  1. Suspension of the U.S. Post Office Across-the-Lines Routes (May 1861 until early July 1861) during a transitional period as the Federal government completed the suspension of the regular pre-war Post Office routes between the northern states and the seceded states.
  2. Private Express Company Routes (February 1861 to June 1865) were used to supplement the regular U.S. post office service, and to carry mail within the C.S.A.. Mail carried between the U.S. and C.S.A. prior to June 1861 is not considered to have crossed the lines because there were no obstacles to the transmission of the mail. This special mail service temporarily filled the void created by the discontinu- ance of the U.S. post office across-the-lines routes, but ended with the August 26, 1861 U.S. ban on all communications with the C.S.A..
  3. Flag-of-Truce Routes (September 1861 to June 1865) were maintained by both governments for the benefit of prisoners of war (P.O.W.), and a limited number of civilians. Mail was exchanged at a number of locations, but principally in southeastern Virginia. This mail service did not evolve until regular communication between North and South was prohibited. P.O.W. and parole camp mail which did not cross the lines is included to provide a full treatment of P.O.W. mail.
  4. Trans-Mississippi Routes (April 1862 to April 1865) were used by both private and C.S.A. post office trans-Mississippi expresses after Union control of the Mississippi River in 1862 cut the Confederacy into eastern and western halves. Communication between the separated parts of the C.S.A. required new special mail routes to bypass the Union blockade along the Mississippi River.
  5. Covert Mail Routes (September 1861 to June 1865) were maintained by a number of private across-the- lines mail systems which typically used inland waterways to cross the lines.
  6. Blockade-Runner Routes (May 1862 through May 1865) connected the Confederacy with neutral West Indies ports, and were used by Confederate steamships to penetrate the Federal blockade of the Southern coastline.
  7. Trans-Rio Grande Routes (July 1861 to June 1865) were maintained between Texas and Mexico, and were used to circumvent the Federal blockade.


Source
1. “The Steven C. Walske Collection of special mail routes of the American Civil War”. Sale 988. Robert A. Siegel. New York, US, 2010.

Posted at 11:00am and tagged with: auctions, postal history, United States, two column,.

April 30th 2010

Around the houses

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Warwick & Warwick, United Kingdom ~ February 2010. The world’s first postal order issued in 1881 (1s) has been sold at auction in Great Britain by the original owner’s family. The order was sold for £4,485 (US$7,000) nearly twice its guide price. On January 1, 1881, Arthur Bull bought the one-shilling order, bearing the serial number 000001, from the Lombard Street post office in London. He never cashed it, keeping it in a leather case, which was passed down for two generations. Finally, his grandson’s widow agreed to auction it. According to Warwick & Warwick, the auctioneers, only five other postal orders from 1881 bearing the same serial number exist today.

Cavendish Philatelic Auction, United Kingdom ~ March 2010: The Smith Collection. The ‘Smith’ Collection saw most countries 100% sold with the hottest demand for the 120 Malta lots; many lots sold for double and treble estimates; the 1830 oval “LAZARETTO/MALTA” (lot 136) reaching £2,800 ($4,250), and the spectacular pictorial letter-sheets (lots 149/150) realising more than 4 times estimate at £2,800 ($4,250) and £2,570 ($3,900) respectively, while the unique 2/- Brown Pair (lot 192) fetched £4,680 ($7,100). The highest prices of the day came, however, for ‘Cinderella’ items; the Hertford College Oxford local issue Essays reaching previously unknown levels at £7,000 ($10,600) and £6,400 ($9,700) (lots 243/4), with tremendous demand across the board for the College Stamps. Likewise the section of British Columbia & Vancouver Express covers (lots 23-51) were a sell-out with most lots doubling estimates and more, the top price of around £1,000 ($1,500) being paid for the BC&V SG3 cover (lot 41). Then there was the off-cover ‘Lady McLeod’ 5c Blue (lot 91) at £4,400 ($6,600), and the GB ‘Court Bureau’ covers (lots 293/4) at around £2,000 ($3,000) and £2,200 ($3,300) each.

Spink, United Kingdom ~ April 2010. The auction of British and British Empire stamps and postal history held at London on 15 and 16 April broke interesting number to mention. There were four interesting lots which made healthy numbers, however much lower than catalogue’s price. The most notable lots were:

  • Line Engraved Proofs and Essays Cancellation Trials 1840 1d. black Plate Ia, a horizontal pair lettered GI-GJ with large balanced margins (1228) had an estimate of £100,000-£120,000 ($152,000-$182,000) made £85,000 ($130,000).
  • 1840 One Penny Black Plate Ia BF, good to large margins, on entire from London to Paisley, tied by two clear strikes of the red Maltese Cross, dated on reverse in manuscript “London 6 May 1840” and overstruck by clear strike of the B (evening) code B/my-6/1840 c.d.s. (1230) with a catalogue price of £125,000 ($190,000) made a healthy £44,000 ($67,000).
  • 1840 One Penny Black Plate V CJ-CK horizontal pair, with large part original gum, large balanced margins (1284) with a catalogue price of £45,000 ($69,000) made £16,000 ($24,000).
  • 1840 One Penny Black Plate VII MC-ME horizontal strip of three (MD showing constant variety), large part original gum, large balanced margins all round (1309) with a catalogue price (pair + single) of £56,000 ($85,000) made £14,000($21,000).

Siegel Auction, United States ~ April 2010: The Louis Grunin Collection of Illustrated Covers. More than 70% of the auctioned pieces were sold most of them for above of estimated prices. Mulready caricatures and the Ocean Penny Postage lots made very good prices. Notable to mention a Barnabas Bates Illustrated “Cheap Inland and Ocean Postage” propaganda cover sent to Cleveland O., 3c Dull Red, Ty. II (11A), large margins to slightly in, tied by well-struck dark blue “Troy N.Y. Jun. 27” circular datestamp (1579) made $13,500 from an estimate of $2,000-$3,000.


Sources
1. “World’s first postal order auctioned”. Union Postale. Bern, UPU, March 2010. Pag. 29.
2. 2010, Cavendish Philatelic Auction website. Consulted 29/Apr/2010.
3. 2010, Spink website. Consulted 28/Apr/2010.
4. 2010, Siegel Auction website. Consulted 28/Apr/2010

Posted at 4:15pm and tagged with: auctions, United States, United Kingdom, two column,.

February 2nd 2010

Scott 2010 Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers

1 note |#

More than 11,000 value changes have been made in the 2010 edition of the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers, with 5,800 of these changes being in the Postage section and more than 1,500 in the Revenue sections. The values for many classic rarities have increased, in many cases substantially. In the modern era, values are fairly steady, with occasional advances seen. Many plate blocks rise in value, and very modern plate blocks from panes of 100 with water-activated gum often have increased in value considerably. On the editorial side, nearly 2,500 illustrations have been replaced by new color scans in this year’s volume, more than 1,600 of them in the postage section alone.

If you collect U.S. stamps, the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers is the single most important book you can add to your philatelic reference library. Covering everything from the earliest postmaster provisionals to beer stamps and postal stationery, the catalogue contains a wealth of information.Amazon.com review
Product details
  • Paperback: 1042 pages
  • Publisher: Scott Publishing Company; 88 edition (October 10, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN: 0894874462
  • Retail price: US$ 79.99

Posted at 8:00am and tagged with: catalogue, literature, United States,.