Lot 209 Canada #158 1929 50c Dark Blue Bluenose, mint never hinged, quite fresh and perfectly centered, extremely fine. A beautiful example of this lovely and popular engraved stamp. Accompanied by a 2020 Greene Foundation certificate. Rsv. $400. Unitrade CV$700, sold for C$725.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
bluenose
Sale 37 Has Finished
Auction #37 has concluded. Prices Realized can be seen on our Stamp Auction Network listing or downloaded from our site. Unsold lots are be available to purchase at the reserve price plus 17% and applicable taxes.
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Lot 256, Canada 1929 fifty cent dark blue Bluenose, XF NH, sold for C$351
Lot 256 Canada #158 1929 50c dark blue Bluenose, mint never hinged, fresh and extremely fine. Unitrade CV$700, sold for C$300.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.
Varieties Noted
Two years ago Sparks Auctions was pleased to offer the discovery example of the 1946 Hydro Electric Station imperforate at right margin. It was a lower right plate block which is now listed and illustrated in the Unitrade Catalogue. In this auction we offer the second known example almost certainly from the same sheet. The example in this auction is a used single with a small fault which will sell as Lot 388.
Canada #270 1946 14c black brown hydroelectric Station imperforate at right margin, used, with part cds cancel. One pulled perf at top, fine. Catalogue value is for fine mint and was based on the sale of the unique plate block we discovered in 2009, and likely this is the unique used example, ex. “Trillium” Collection. Unitrade CV$2500.
This means there are likely to be seven more either mint or used examples awaiting discovery.
Many other varieties are harder to spot. I was looking at some lots for the future auction #9 this morning. In one lot there are dozens of used Bluenoses. One of the popular varieties of this stamp inspired the central storyline for a Tommy Tricker movie about twenty years ago. Did I look for the “Man on the Mast?” No, and I sometimes wonder how many varieties are not noticed during the lotting process because of laziness or time pressure or lack of knowledge. It certainly gives anyone a bit of a thrill to find a celebrated variety. Here are three that we offer in this auction:
Canada #158iii 1929 50¢ Bluenose Man on the Mast, used with postmark well clear of the variety, very fine. A key used stamp for the variety collector. Unitrade CV$1500
Canada #208i 1934 3¢ Cartier with “burr on shoulder” variety, used, fine. Unitrade CV$60
Canada #208ii 1934 3¢ Cartier with “scarface” variety, used, fine-very fine. Unitrade CV$75
Auction 7 Followup #3 — Used Bluenoses
Used Bluenoses
We offered three lots of used Canada Bluenoses (Scott #158) and they attracted spirited bidding. Lot 533 was a wholesale lot with perfins and included other stamps. All stamps had creases from usage and our estimate was $200. With only two advance bids it opened at $130 but the floor and the internet quickly bid this up to $375 where it sold to an internet bidder.
Lot 534 — Canada #158 1929 50¢ dark blue Bluenose, well centered pair with CNR perfin, creases from usage else very fine. Unitrade CV$200; realized $230.
This pair of Bluenoses with creases also attracted only two advance bids with an opening bid of $26 but a determined battle between the floor and the internet resulted in a very strong hammer price of $200, well above our estimate of $75.
Lot 535 — 1929 50¢ dark blue Bluenose, an attractive used block with London, Ontario 1935 postmark, fine-very fine. Unitrade CV$300; realized $431.
This attractive block of four with a somewhat late 1935 postmark opened quite strongly at $160 but the internet challenged the top book bid of $350 and it sold for one increment above that; another one which was more than twice our internal estimate.
We continue our look back at the pre-auction highlights, this time with the local stamps featured in highlights 4 and 9. We featured the section of seven lots of Canadian locals with Lot 723.
Lot 723; realized $241.
This lot, estimated at $150, opened strongly at $210 and there was no further bidding, resulting in a bidder who did not have to pay his maximum.
Lot 1249; realized $373.
We featured three lots of locals in the worldwide section. Lot 1249, the Himmler Head, was estimated at a modest $100 and opened at $170 and the floor, internet, and book all competed to end up at a hammer price of $325. Lot 1874, 150 World War Two local issues estimated at $500, sold for a hammer of $950 with competition from the book and the floor. Finally we come to Lot 1899 estimated at $500. If I had ventured an opinion as to which of these three would attract the strongest bids, my choice would have been this lot. It did attract a fair number of bids and opened at $450 and quickly sold to the advance book bid of $500 somewhat below the top bid.