Sparks Auctions

Sparks Auction #2 — June 6th & 7th, 2008

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We are pleased to announce the dates for our second auction. It will be held on Friday June 6th and Saturday June 7th, 2008.

The auction offers nearly 2000 lots in Commonwealth, WorldWide, Canada, Postal History and Lots & Collections. Highlights include SouthWest Africa, Mafia Island and East Africa, lovely pence issues of Canada and B.N.A., Large and Small Queens, rarities and die proofs from King George VII and Queen Elizabeth II, back of the book and provinces, postal history (especially Nova Scotia), and featuring a magnificent De Pinedo cover of Newfoundland and a very large volume of lots and collections that despite the sheer size does not sacrifice quality.

We will use this space in the coming weeks to detail specific lots and tell more stories about the terrific items in this sale.

The catalogue is now at the printer and is expected to arrive back in our offices for mailing during the week of May 12th. We will have the catalogue PDF files on our site by that date as well, with the complete supplementary image galleries later in the same week. The auction will also appear on Stamp Auction Network for bidding soon after.

Please contact us if you would like to receive a copy of the printed catalogue, if you want to register to bid, or with any other questions.

Last Call for Consignments

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Our successful inaugural auction took place in November of last year. Here on our website you can view a pdf copy of the catalogue for the November 2007 sale in addition to the “enhanced content” – namely the hundreds of scans available online to provide additional exposure to the material.

We are in the process of lotting for our next sale, scheduled for May 2008. As such, we are seeking consignments. They can range from single rare stamps, essays, covers, full collections and dealer inventories.

Benefits of consignments to Sparks Auctions:
• Consignments broken down in a way to maximize returns to consignors
• Material insured while in our possession
• Lavishly illustrated colour catalogues sent worldwide to eager buyers
• Auction listed at StampAuctionNetwork with Live bidding during the auction – results in “international prices” rather than local prices for material sold

Should you have any material that you would like to dispose of, please contact us at 613.567.3336 or at info@sparks-auctions.com. We still have time to include your material in our May sale!

Looking Ahead

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We would like to thank all of the bidders and consignors to our inaugural auction of November 8-10th, 2007. Please call our office at the number above with any ongoing concerns about auction winnings and payments.

We are continuing to accept material for our next sale, tentatively planned for April or May of 2008. There have been many lessons to learn from our first sale, and we anticipate an even better auction for our second.

Contact us if you are interested in consigning, if you would like to receive the auction CD and/or mailing list notifications as the date approaches, or if there is anything else you would like to discuss.

We wish all of our customers the best of the upcoming holidays and in 2008!

Lot 79

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Here we can show you a great result:

Lot 79

Canada #26a – Queen Victoria – 5c Olive Green – Perf 12.1 x 12.1. Tough stamp in any condition, as it has been estimated that about only 6% have this perforation gauge, which must be consistent on all four sides. We offer a very finely centered example with trivial, light toning, otherwise fault free. Faint Toronto duplex cancel.

We received an enormous bid of $3500 on this lot from a good customer, along with instructions to break a tie. The pre-sale underbidder had this lot opening at only $220, but once offered the price climbed quickly and soon a live internet bidder was the driving force.

He tried jumping the bidding in increments of several hundred dollars. His bids came fast and furious but slowed down after $3000. The $3400 bid fell to the live bidder. Our bid of $3600 seemed to stop him, but after a few seconds a $3800 bid was registered and proved successful.

Bidding wars like this help make a live auction interesting for all.

Auction #1 News

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November 12th is the Remembrance Day holiday in Canada, but four of us are working hard to prepare invoices and have as many lots as possible ready for shipping starting tomorrow when the Post Office opens.  Local Ottawa customers can pick up lots beginning Tuesday as well, but please call us first at the number above so we can prepare your winnings.

With over 2200 lots it was an exhausting three days for the Sparks Auctions team.  Any new technology causes some apprehension, and we tried to anticipate all contingencies.  The result was that everything ran even more smoothly than we anticipated in our most optimistic scenario.  As we complete the auction cycle, we will have learned three new systems, tamed a brand-new four-station computer network and mastered on-line interfaces to two different programs.  All functioned perfectly and except for a screensaver popping up a few times on the main auction floor display, and about 90 seconds of muted internet audio, we had great luck over the 25-plus hours of the auction sessions.

We wish to thank all of our bidders for their bids, and our consignors for submitting their material.

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