Some months back we went to pick up a large and heavy consignment for Sparks. There was some Canadian mint which was primarily postage (and which was lotted separately) but the bulk by weight and value was an enormous collection in Scott International Albums.
Consignments like this present several alternatives in deciding how to break them into suitable lots, whether to catalogue the stamps, how to blend the very high retail price of the albums with the value of the stamps in the albums, and how to get the best price for the consignor. There were some items which would have made very decent single lots.
After spending several hours looking through each album the decision was made to offer the collection intact. It became Lot 1502, described as follows:
Scott Internationals 52 volume Worldwide Collection A lifetime worldwide collection 1840-2002 in 50 Scott Internationals, 2 Minkus Albums, and a stockbook (Russia to 1971 and Colombia, Panama) The collection is intact as received and the quantity of stamps per volume varies widely. The early classics of the 1840-1890 period are often faulty but the period best represented from George VI through earlier QEII is generally fine. Most stamps are used and most of the mint are hinged, although there are mint NH complete sets. Strongest in Canada, followed by U.S.A. and Great Britain. There are pleasant surprises scattered throughout. Inspect at least 6-10 volumes as the strength varies from volume to volume. The albums and pages are arranged by country and would cost more than our estimate if purchased new. Also included with this lot is one carton of duplicates or stamps ready to put in the albums, thousands of used glassines, the 2003 Scott International Supplement and a set of 2003 Scott catalogues. Estimate: $5000
For the background of our Lots & Collections section, we featured a digital photo of just one small part of the collection on our storage shelves.
We were pleasantly surprised with the result of $9200 including commission.