Auction #1 News

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.

Sessions 3 & 4 complete, please join us tomorrow

Please join us for the last day of our inaugural auction. Session 5 (Postal History) begins at 10:30am EST, with Session 6 (Collections, Remainders & Ephemera) at 1:30pm.

Prices Realized for the first four sessions are posted on the StampAuctionNetwork site. We should note that bidders who applied before the auction to be allowed to bid on SAN can get quick approval if they contact us with credit card information by either fax, phone or e-mail.

The Auction Begins Today

The six sessions of our inaugural auction begin today with Canada and B.N.A., and continue tomorrow with Commonwealth and Worldwide, then on Saturday with Postal History and Collections (see the schedule on our viewing link in the right sidebar). Advance bidding has been steady and we look forward to an active floor and strong internet bids.

Some important notes:

  • Opening Bids are updated live at Stamp Auction Network (click on the button for Openings at the top of our auction).
  • If you want to bid on-line, allow time for your registration to be approved. At least 24 hours is advisable while the auction sessions are proceeding. For speediest confirmation, provide your credit card information. You can call us or fax it to the numbers above, or even e-mail it (use two messages if you want extra security while in transit).
  • International bidders following the sale on-line should note that we are in the Eastern Standard time zone (North America), GMT -0500. It will be 6pm in London, England when our 1pm session begins today, etc.

We wish all of our bidders (and consignors!) the best of luck in a sale that is shaping up to be quite remarkable.

Featured Item #16

Lot #139 Canada #45a – Queen Victoria – 10¢ Dull Rose. Extremely well centered strip of four with tidy "Toronto MR5/94" cds cancels and wonderful colour. Top quality item. Unitrade:$240

Ian says: "Because the Small Queens were perforated using line perforation machines it is unusual to find a multiple with consistently very fine centering. This strip of four with its deep colour, attractive circular date stamp postmarks and overall quality made an immediate ‘wow’ impression. This visually spectacular strip is made up of two pairs which have been expertly rejoined."

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