Lot 129 Canada #37d 1870 3c deep copper red Small Queen, Perforated 12½, used with very fine strike of a 2-ring #7 (St John), fine. From the John Hillson Collections. Unitrade CV $900, sold for C$625 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
John Hillson
Lot 32, Canada 1880 fifteen cent deep violet Large Queen on thick carton paper, XF with neat Montreal cancel, sold for C$5750
Lot 32 Canada #30c 1880 15c deep violet Large Queen on Thick Carton Paper, used with neat Montreal cancel, deep rich colour and very nicely centered. An extremely fine and fresh stamp, without any of the faults normally seen on this difficult paper. An exquisite example, certainly among the very best known. From the John Hillson Collections. Unitrade CV $2,000, sold for $5000 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
Lot 171, Canada 1872-73 six cent yellow brown Small Queen, VF NH, sold for C$2,875
Lot 171 Canada #39 1872-73 6c yellow brown Small Queen, Perforated 11.85 x 12, First Ottawa printing “one dot state” (plate position 94), nicely centered and fresh, mint never hinged, very fine. Accompanied by a 2019 Greene Foundation certificate. Catalogue value is for a “normal” #39 and does not take into consideration the rarity of mint stamps from the First Ottawa printing. This lot and the two following lots were in a strip of three plated as being from positions 92 to 94 from the “A” plate. The strip of three was pictured in Hillson’s article on the 6c value published in The London Philatelist. The stamps are from a very early printing, as denoted by the perforation and the small single guide dots. We note that high-quality never hinged examples of First Ottawa printing 6c are exceptionally rare. In fact, based on our research, we have not identified any premium never hinged example being offered at auction prior to these three examples. The rarity of this stamp should not be confused with the much more common, yet still elusive, 6c yellow-brown from the “three dot state” which can be seen infrequently offered in premium never hinged condition. The strip of three was separated into three singles to give three collectors the opportunity to acquire one of these rare premium examples of the 6c from the First Ottawa printing. From the John Hillson Collections. Unitrade CV$ 2,400, sold for $2500 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
Lot 102, Canada 1873 two cent deep green Small Queen, XF NH, sold for C$1,322.50
Lot 102 Canada #36e 1873 2c deep green Small Queen, Perforated 11½ x 12, mint with full original gum, hinged and extremely fine. From the John Hillson Collections, accompanied by a drawing from Hillson showing the re-entries he found on the stamp. A difficult stamp to find in such nice condition. Unitrade CV$1,000, sold for C$1,150 plus 15% buyer’s premium.
Sale 30 has finished
Sparks Auction #30, our biggest sale ever, is complete. Unaudited Prices Realized from the sale can be seen on Stamp Auction Network or downloaded from our site. In June, Sparks-auctions.com will begin highlighting some of the better and more interesting realizations from the sale. There is much to talk about, including what are certain to be a few amazing prices (including the extremely fine 15c Large Queen shown at left, ex-Hillson).
We are now organizing material and preparing invoices which will take us at least the entire next week. Invoices will be sent by e-mail. While we will not usually interrupt our work to take your phone call, all calls and e-mails will be answered as soon as we can provide the information you require. Payment can be made in cash, cheques in CD$ or US$ (we will provide the conversion rate), Mastercard or Visa (2.5% convenience fee applies) or by internet eTransfer or wire (see your invoice for transit details, or check with us).
Buyers who wish to pick up their auction winnings at our offices can do so by appointment beginning on Thursday, June 6th. We are not open to the public before that date. If you haven’t visited our new offices yet, we remind you that we are now at 1770 Woodward Drive in Ottawa. Appointments can be made by e-mail or by telephone starting on Wednesday, May 29th. While our building is locked on Saturdays, we will try to make arrangements for those who must pick up outside of work hours.
As always, we thank you for your bids!
Sparks Auctions