A Traditional Philatelic Auction House — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Canada #411DP, 1963 $1 Canadian Exports large die proof, engraved in black on thick glossy (photographic?) paper, 94 x 76 mm, dated July 5, 1962 and signed by Yves Baril (engraver) with faint unburnished guidelines, very fine. Accompanied by 2009 Richard Gratton AIEP certificate. The only die proof of this stamp we can recall seeing. Estimate: $2500
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!
Canada #39DP, 1872 6¢ Small Queen small die proof, in peacock blue on card mounted India paper, extremely fine. Very rare. Estimate $1500, realized $5980 with buyer’s premium.
Canada pence issues are well represented, with a range of mint and used, and highlighted by a rare proof of the twelve penny.
Canada #3TC, 1851 12d Queen Victoria "scar" die proof, printed in deep indigo on thin bond paper, with four large margins, fresh and attractive, very fine. A lovely example of this rare proof. Unitrade C$ 8,000.
In our editorial to Auction #3 we made comments on eleven subjects
(Rarity, Descriptions, Scanned Images, etc.) concerning the auctions. These are worth repeating.
Exceptional Items There are exceptional items in every session. Please take time to study the catalogue thoroughly. We invite you to participate in our auction.
Rarity Each of our auctions has had an increasing number of stamps or philatelic items of great rarity. In June 2008 we offered a Newfoundland 1857 Two Penny; in January 2009 we offered two of these rarities, and also a unique pair of the Four Penny and two of the One Shilling Orange. This auction sees an Inverted Seaway block, a die proof of the Twelve Pence, and a Six Pence on wove paper with original gum – and these are just in the Canada.
Quality Collectors not only have different interests but have different criteria for quality. It is a real pleasure to describe stamps of high quality. We are especially looking for future consignments of high quality material.
Quantity Before our June 2008 auction we wrote an editorial including a paragraph about how bulky the sale was. We had to purchase 28 new full sized bookshelves to hold auction lots. This phenomenon continues. There were great bargains in the Lots & Collections last auction and the same will be true in Auction #4.
Bidding Increments We have made changes to the bidding steps at the lower level of increments. This should speed up the auction. Increments are listed on the bid sheet and on our site.
Descriptions We attempt to have accurate and consistent descriptions for all lots from the great single rarities all the way down to the carton of “junk.” This means many more hours needed to catalogue and describe collections and bulky lots. Descriptions are then audited and where necessary corrected. Sparks Auctions is interested in hiring collectors who would like to try their hand at auction descriptions on an “as-needed” basis. We invite your expression of interest.
Opening Bids Opening bids on StampAuctionNetwork will show as $2 whether there are no bids or one bid. A second bid on the same lot will result in a posted starting bid one increment higher than the underbid. Our experience is that nowadays most lots show only two dollars as the opening bid until about 24 hours before the auction begins.
Live Internet Bidding We are the first – and still the only – Canadian auction house to use the live internet bidding capabilities of StampAuctionNetwork.com.
Consignors We thank our many consignors for their confidence in Sparks Auctions. We solicit consignments of any size for future auctions.
Scanned Images We scan images at 300 dpi and 250% of their original size. This means that the expanded scans for single stamps on our site will allow the viewer to zoom in at full screen size on most computer displays. Many scans which are not in the catalogue can be found on our website.
Going Green We expect that with greater use of the internet, our printed catalogue will become increasingly unnecessary, since the auction lots and prices realized can be seen on www.sparks-auctions.com, and on StampAuctionNetwork.com. We can also record your interests and make sure you receive regular updates and special e-mail listings so that you are certain not to miss any important news. Please let us know if you no longer need the catalogue.