Lot 618, Canada 1898 ten cent blue green Special Delivery first day cover, sold for C$2,691

Lot 618, Canada 1898 ten cent blue green Special Delivery first day cover, sold for C$2,691Lot 618 Canada #E1 1898 10c Blue Green Special Delivery First Day Cover, tied by JUL.1.1898 5pm Montréal Bickerdike flag cancel (very uncommon on special delivery mail) on 1c blue Queen Victoria stationery envelope (Webb EN6) paying the 1c printed matter rate (unsealed as was required, with pencil notation “found opened no contents fw”) plus 10c special delivery fee, fresh and very fine. July 1, 1898 was the first day the Special Delivery was offered in 14 Canadian cities, including Montréal. The sender of this cover obviously recognized the importance of this occasion by preparing the two covers offered in this sale (see next lot for the other one). Prior to the discovery of the two covers offered in this sale, the earliest recorded use of this stamp was July 2, 1898. An exceptionally rare and important early first day cover, offered to the market for the first time 125 years after its date of issue. Estimate C$500, sold for C$2,300.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.

Lot 619, Canada 1898 10c blue green Special Delivery First Day Cover, Montréal flag cancel, earliest recorded use

Lot 619 Canada #E1 1898 10c Blue Green Special Delivery First Day Cover, tied by JUL.1.1898 5pm Montréal Bickerdike flag cancelLot 619 Canada #E1 1898 10c Blue Green Special Delivery First Day Cover, tied by JUL.1.1898 5pm Montréal Bickerdike flag cancel (very uncommon on special delivery mail) on 2c green Queen Victoria stationery envelope (Webb EN9) paying the 2c drop letter rate plus 10c special delivery fee, fresh and very fine. July 1, 1898 was the first day the Special Delivery was offered in fourteen Canadian cities, including Montréal. The sender of this cover obviously recognized the importance of this occasion by preparing the two covers offered in this sale (see Lot 618 for the other one). Prior to the discovery of the two covers offered in this sale, the earliest recorded use of this stamp was July 2, 1898. An exceptionally rare and important early first day cover, offered to the market for the first time 125 years after its date of issue. Estimate C$500.

Announcing Sale 47

Lot 619 Canada #E1 1898 10c Blue Green Special Delivery First Day Cover, tied by JUL.1.1898 5pm Montréal Bickerdike flag cancel (very uncommon on special delivery mail) on 2c green Queen Victoria stationery envelope (Webb EN9) paying the 2c drop letter rate plus 10c special delivery fee, fresh and very fine. July 1, 1898 was the first day the Special Delivery was offered in fourteen Canadian cities, including Montréal. The sender of this cover obviously recognized the importance of this occasion by preparing the two covers offered in this sale (see lot 618 for the other one). Prior to the discovery of the two covers offered in this sale, the earliest recorded use of this stamp was July 2, 1898. An exceptionally rare and important early first day cover, offered to the market for the first time 125 years after its date of issue. Estimate C$500

Welcome to our General Sale #47, our fourth auction of 2023, with one more to look forward to in the Fall.

Here at Sparks Auctions consignments come in almost daily. We recommend that you contact us early if you have material to sell, so that it can be included in our next available, well-publicized sale. Our April 4-6 sale #46 resulted in 382 different buyers from all over the world.

This sale has our usual wide range of material, with quality Canada and provinces, British Commonwealth and worldwide singles, sets and collections, including a lovely and fresh British Commonwealth collection which has not seen the light of day since it was safely put away at the beginning of World War II.

Don’t forget to have a close look at our over 400 lots of postal history offerings, including part one of the extensive David Hobden and Michael Rixon pre-Confederation Upper Canada postal history collection and part one of the Gordon Richardson early Manitoba postal history collection. We also offer many airmail, first flight and airship covers, plus useful postal history from a wide variety of worldwide countries.

We are proud to continue our long-standing tradition of showing photos or scans of every single lot, so you know what you are buying, should you not be able to do pre-sale viewing in person. Our sales average 10,000 to 12,000 high quality pictures, which can all be seen in full colour on Stamp Auction Network.

As usual, this sale will be conducted live on StampAuctionNetwork.com, also with a live floor, via telephone and other traditional bidding methods. A reminder that our buyer’s fee is still at an industry-low 17%, and that all transactions are in Canadian dollars.

Enjoy the sale!

Stéphane Cloutier, FRPSC, FPHSC
Auction Manager

Lot 786, British Commonwealth Collection mostly 1937 Coronation First Day Covers, sold for C$585

Lot 786, British Commonwealth Collection mostly 1937 Coronation First Day Covers, sold for C$585Lot 786 British Commonwealth Collection of 68 mostly 1937 Coronation First Day Covers, includes 44 first day covers with Crown over a circle fancy Coronation cachets, including six registered, plus other first days without cachets. Also note four Canadian Royal Visit covers and some other odds and ends. Overall condition is very fine. Estimate $150, sold for C$500.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.