Auction #3

One of the joys of working with stamps and describing them is the discovery of a treasure.  While describing a strong collection of Hong Kong, one of our lotters noticed a variety on a Queen Elizabeth stamp. Issued in 1973 on glazed paper, the ten dollar value of the definitive series is a variety not listed in the major North American catalogues.  In the Stanley Gibbons catalogue it is #209d with a catalogue value of £2,250.  The result is that a buyer is going to acquire a rare and elusive stamp and the seller will be very happy (lot 124).

We would like to wish a Happy Hanukkah to our customers who are beginning to celebrating the Festival of Lights.

A joy of being in the auction business is the opportunity to see and study collections in greater detail than is normally possible.  One of the collections which provided this pleasure was of Lithuania.  This multi-volume collection had mint and used stamps, errors and varieties galore and several volumes of postal history.  Because there is less demand for the stamps of this fascinating Baltic country the errors and rarities are relatively much more affordable. This auction will present an opportunity to obtain them. An example is Lot 342, pictured above.

Canada’s first stamp is the three penny beaver printed on laid paper, Scott #1. We offer two lots of this popular collectible.  One is a pair of these stamps in the highest quality with deep rich colour, light postmark and large, even margins (#1, lot 403).  The second (lot 404, Scott #1a) is from the corner of a sheet with the original huge margins. With a centrally applied target cancel, this stamp has tremendous visual appeal.  Less than a handful of corner marginal examples have survived.

We are pleased to announce that the catalogue for Auction #3 is at the printers, with a small quantity expected at our offices by Friday, December 12th and the bulk of our order arriving early next week for mailing.

There is much to be said about the material in this sale, and we will be posting here regularly in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, PDF catalogues can be seen at the auction home page which is linked from the right sidebar along with information on viewing hours, how to bid, etc.

Best of luck in the auction!