Philatelic News

Worldwide news about postage stamps, stamp collecting, philatelic literature, exhibitions, auctions and more!

February 19th 2012

Penny Red with rare imperfections set to sell for £550,000 at auction

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One of the rarest and most sought after stamps ever produced is up for sale and expected to fetch over half a million pounds. The plate 77 Penny Red has been dubbed the ‘Holy Grail of philately’ and is one of just nine examples of the stamp ever recorded.

Although millions of Penny Reds were printed between 1841 and 1879, a number of plates were never used due to technical faults. Flaws in plate number 77 meant the stamp’s perforations were lined up incorrectly, so all of the test sheets were destroyed. But at least one sheet was released into circulation by mistake - making the 77 every stamp collector’s dream.

Dealer Stanley Gibbons heralds it as the ‘most valuable single stamp’ the company has ever had for sale in their 156 year history, with a value of around £550,000. (…) Spokesman Vince Cordell said: ‘This example has graced some of the finest stamp collections ever formed and is not only a magnificent exhibition piece but one of the great rarities of Great Britain and world philately.

(Source: Daily Mail)

Posted at 3:37pm and tagged with: Penny Red, uk, auctions, two column,.

February 20th 2011

March’s Auctions

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Mar 1: Siegel Auctions (US) ~ Sale #1004 The Gordon Eubanks Collection of the U.S. 1869 Pictorial Issue. Download catalogue.

Mar 2: Warwick & Warwick (UK) ~ Stamps Sale 667. Visit auction’s site. Worldwide stamps auction featuring 883 lots.

Mar 2: Siegel Auctions (US) ~ Sale #1005 The “New Amsterdam” Collection of City Despatch Post. The city despatch post was established in New York City in February 1842. According to an account published in 1894 and provided by Charles Windsor, the post was founded by his father, Henry Thomas Windsor, a London merchant who at the tme was living in Hoboken, New Jersey. Inspired by Rowland Hill’s postal reforms in Great Britain, Windsor and his friend, Alexander M. Greig, started operating the City Despatch Post during the first week of February 1842, in time for the busy Valentine season. Greig was advertised as the post’s “agent,” and his name is usually used alone by historians and philatelists when referring to the post’s proprietor. Download catalogue.

Mar 2-3: Siegel Auctions (US) ~ Sale #1006 The Wagshal Collection, Part 4: Perforated One-Cent 1857-60 Issue. This fourth and final part of the series of Wagshal sales presents the perforated 1¢ stamps, produced by Toppan Carpenter and issued from mid-1857 until all circulating postage stamps were demonetized in 1861 with the outbreak of the Civil War. The 1857-61 perforated 1¢ stamps were created in the same manner as the earlier imperforate stamps, except for some modifications intended to provide more space for perforation holes between the stamps. Download catalogue.

Mar 5: Prestige Philately (AU) - Auction #162 “The World at War”. Postal services during wartime in four discrete sections: 1. Russell Stern’s Australian Military Mail. The World War II conflicts in North Africa, Mediterranean, Palestine & Borneo, 2. Accumulation of civil censorship mail of the British Empire formed by John Little from England, 3. Australian material, from WWI POWs in New South Wales, and the balance of John Little’s censor mail, from the Great War and 4. G. Darge’s Gold Medal exhibit of “New Zealand Forces in WWI”. Visit auction’s site. Download catalogue.

Mar 7-12: Philatelie Christoph Gärtner (DE) ~ Auction #17 is composed by seven catalogues. 1. India & Indian States, 2. Asia, 3. Overseas and thematics, 4. Europe, 5. Germany, 6. Collections and 7. Rarities. So you will find a very special selection of fantastic stamps and covers as an extract of the more than 24.000 lots. Visit auction’s site.

Mar 9-10: Cavendish Philatelic Auctions (UK) ~ The Bentwaters’ Collection of Mulreadies with over 100 covers, plus over 100 1d Black and  1d Red covers. The Dr. James Kyle  CBE, FRCS, FRPSL Collections of the British Empire, with Australia, New Zealand, West Africa, and more. The Admiral Collection of Canada formed by the late Sandy Mackie, with foreign destination covers (Java, Mexico, Seychelles etc.), WWI censors, advertising mail. The John Bodman Collection of Papua (with Cocos Is.), an astonishing new discovery: an original find of 1870s stamped covers to Thailand (3 surface printed frankings from GB earlier than any item in the ‘Wheat’ Collection).

Mar 14: Soler y Llach (ES) ~ Worldwide stamps and postal history. Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Danish WI, Ecuador, Egypt, France & French colonies, Germany & states, GB & British commonwealth, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Italy, Levant, Mexico, Netherlands, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, USA & Venezuela and much more. Download catalogue. Visit auction’s site.

Mar 17: Grosvenor (UK) ~ British Empire. The Lord Cornwallis Collection of Australia with Gambia, Gibraltar and Malta. An outstanding auction of 553 lots, including exceptional rarities of the Kangaroo and King George V Head issues of Australia. Download catalogue.

Mar 17: Apex Philatelic Auctions (UK) ~ Sale #106 is a 6500 lot general world sale. It includes extensive sections of Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland, the majority from the purchase in November of the entire stock of Leo Baresch Ltd., one of the world’s foremost dealers in the stamps of those countries (and who will be familiar to most serious collectors thereof). For single items, we draw your attention to lot 495 GB 1902 Board of Education 1/- green and carmine fine used, with 2007 BPA Cert. Cat £4500, lot 491 GB 1882 IR Official £1 green ‘TA’ with framebreak fine used. Cat £4500, Lot 1721 Bermuda 1938 line perf 10/- yellow green and carmine u/m [very slight gum toning as always found on this printing) and with variety “Lower right scroll with broken tail.” Cat £4000 1938 line perf 10/- yellow green and carmine u/m, with variety “Lower right scroll with broken tail.” Cat £4000, (plus several other varieties of this issue), lot 1858 British Virgin Isles 1857 (GB) 1d rose red ‘star’ used with fine strike of ‘A13’ cancel, a lovely example, very scarce. Cat £3750. Visit auction’s site.

Mar 19: Ron Leith Auctions (CA) ~ Sale #43 Stamps and postal history of Canada and United States.
Postal History auction highlights: includes the entire Tripo Costello Postcard Stock along with his famous Santa Clause Collection, the Wally Gutzman Canada Fancy Cork Cancel Collection, the “Calgary Collection” of Postal Artifacts comprising over 200 Canada postal hammers, part one of the Lila Walcer lifetime collection of British Royalty Memorabilia noting signed photos of King George-V and Queen Mary, a scarce group of USA General McClellan Civil War Patriotic Covers, a rare Amelia Earhart autographed cover (lot #782), and part one of the Donald Rogan Railroad Collection of RPO cancels, maps, books, and ephemera.
Stamp auction highlights: the Canada section includes the “Vernon Collection” of Superb Mint and Used Canada Classic Stamps, an extremely rare Newfoundland 5 Pence Favour “CANCELLED” Stamp that resulted in a British political scandal (lot #2476), the finest collection of Canada Coil Start and End Strips that we have ever offered, a fully operational USA Schermack Experimental Coil Vending Machine, the massive stock of recently retired packet dealer Hank Vander Veen, the Bill Anderson Precancel Collection listed as one of the top 10 collections in the Precancel Survey, and an outstanding collection of Canada Christmas Seals that includes many of the rare proofs. Visit auction’s site.

Mar 23: Stanley Gibbons (UK) ~ Worldwide Postal Bid Auction #220. Noteworthy sections in this auction include: Good selection of Bermuda, China, Ascension, Bahamas, Barbados, St. Helena, Malaya, Hong Kong, and Great Britain surface printed. Visit auction’s site.

Mar 25-26: Postiljonen (SE) ~ The “Leif Ericsson” Large Gold Collection of classic Iceland. Classic Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Portugal. Exhibition collection classic Denmark. Download catalogue.

Mar 28: Lugdunum Philatélie (FR) ~ France, French Colonies and Worldwide. Visit auction’s site.


Posted at 6:30am and tagged with: Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, auctions, two column, Spain,.

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 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

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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,.

April 29th 2010

Spectacular Auction: Rapp auctioning Ticino Collection

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The Ticino Collection will be the most outstanding object of the Rapp Auction that is scheduled for 1 to 4 June 2010 in Wil/SG, Switzerland. The Ticino Collection is the most important and valuable collection of Swiss stamps from the 1843-1854 period to be auctioned in 50 years. Even insiders were completely ignorant of its existence. For decades, some of its most precious items even were considered lost. These include, for example, three copies of the socalled “Neuchâtel” stamp on a beautiful 1852 cover from Geneva to the Canton of Fribourg. This cover alone is estimated to realize more than a quarter million Swiss Francs. Meanwhile auctioneer Peter Rapp’s amazement when he had a chance to inspect this rediscovered collection for the first time has infected the entire trade. This doesn’t come as a surprise since the collection includes some absolutely unique items as well as others of which very few copies are known to exist.In the auction, these spectacular rarities will be supplemented with many other precious stamps, covers and coin holdings. As a consequence, collectors, investors and museum directors from many different countries have indicated buying interest. They will come in person to attend the auction. After all, the demand for rare philatelic collectibles generally is very strong – even among investors. Therefore Rapp Auctions, an international trade leader for some 40 years, expect a total realization of approximately 15 million Swiss Francs ($13.7 millions). This auction very likely will prove to be the most important and strongest-selling – and certainly the most spectacular – event of the auction season.


Source
1. 2010, Rapp Auction website. Consulted 28/Apr/2010.

Posted at 4:23pm and tagged with: auctions, famous collections, Switzerland, two column,.