A Traditional Philatelic Auction House — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Great Britain #91a, 1883 10sh grey green Victoria on white paper , Large anchor watermark, position FB, with SPECIMEN overprint in black (type 9), unused no gum with horizontal crease, nicely centered and otherwise fine-very fine. An attractive and affordable way to obtain this rare stamp as the catalogue value for a mint example is $67,500 (SG Specialized J124). Estimate $500
Canada #4 1852 3d red Beaver imperf pair, with full to large margins on all sides, showing portion of next stamp at top right, unused no gum, trivial flaws visible under high magnification and the suggestion of a pressed out crease, however the appearance is very fine. Unitrade CV $4000
The comprehensive gallery of large-format images from Sale #5 is now on-line. Additional scans and enlargements showing detail are listed with an "a" in the name of the scan.
If there is a lot you would like to see scanned, please send us an e-mail.
Beginning later this morning, we will have two featured items posted here daily until the auction sessions begin. These will highlight what we consider to be the more interesting stamps in the sale.
We received our shipment of full-colour catalogues this morning, and they have now been mailed out. They should arrive early in the week for Canadian destinations, mid-week in the U.S., and by the end of next week or the 23rd of November for all addresses.
If you would like us to send you a catalogue, please e-mail us your address. We remind all potential bidders that the auction can be seen in our on-line PDF files, and live at Stamp Auction Network.
Once again, our Sale #5 of December 1, 2 & 3, 2009 is a well-rounded auction.
The Early Canada section includes the ten penny Cartier with a red postmark that complements the colour of the stamp (Lot 11); a pair of 12-1/2c Large Queens that is quite delightful (Lot 49); a two cent Small Queen with major re-entry (Lot 62); and the ten cent Leaf issue with dated cancel which is rare in this quality (Lot 143). There are numerous fresh, immaculate, extremely fine stamps, especially in the Admirals. We offer a very fine never hinged Inverted Seaway (Lot 425), and a Large Die Proof of the $1 Canadian Exports which appeals as a unique collectible (Lot 427).
British Commonwealth contains many rare and great stamps including a full pane of Antigua five shillings (Lot 729), and Western Australia deep colour centered Swan (Lot 752). There are many other tempting items in the Commonwealth section including South Australia proofs, British Honduras, and used blocks from South West Africa.
The dominant item in the Worldwide is the section on Bolivia. Despite some condition problems with a few lots, this group — as well as the stampless covers and later collections — will provide a chance to get a good start with many scarce items. The four lots of Iceland offer rarity and quality (Lots 999-1002). Israel #7-9 NH with tabs are also offered (Lot 1006).
There are many interesting and appealing lots in Postal History, one of the featured items being the Henry Hechler collection (Lot 1231), and an award-winning collection of airmail (Lots 1126-1212). An 1893 London Philatelist has the complete set of Die Plate Proofs from Prince Edward Island.
The final session of Lots & Collections is to be held on Thursday with about 250 lots. Virtually all are interesting, and offer an opportunity to buy such diverse items as a collector-made album, a carton, or even a bookshelf full of stamps!