Queen Victoria Jubilee

Auction 7 Followup #7 — Bidding Analysis

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Here is a strong realization from the British Commonwealth Section.


Lot 927; realized $488

This lot estimated at $200 received nine advance bids, then opened and sold to the book at $425 against the top bid of $575. That was strong but this next lot was spectacular:


Lot 975; realized $1840.

When we estimated this at $100 we clearly did not anticipate the demand. We received seven advance bids and opened it at $700. The internet attacked our top book bid and up it went to sell for a hammer of $1600 which was $400 below the top bid.

We know from the questions people ask us that there is both a lot of curiosity about how auctions are run, and there are also a lot of misconceptions.

In Auction #7 we had 1846 lots and before the auction started we received from traditional sources like mail and also the internet a total of 7140 bids or very nearly four bids for every lot. That is an impressive total.

If a mathematician was asked to randomly distribute numbers into 1846 categories, the distribution would look nothing like the actual distribution in the bidbook. I gave these figures to an experienced auctiongoer who is conversant with mathematics and asked him to guess how many bids were received for the lot which received the most. His answer was 41; the correct answer is 12.

How many of the lots received no bids prior to the auction? I didn’t count but it was about twelve or a bit more.  How many received ten or more? Also about a dozen with one at twelve and a handful at eleven and ten; nine was not much higher but eight bids was a significantly larger figure. The two “flattest” sections with very few highs and lows were the Healy Pass collection and B.N.A. In those two sections virtually every lot received three, four, five, or six bids.

Where did the bids come from? The top five countries were Canada, USA, Singapore, U.K., and Cyprus. After the auction when we look at who was successful the top countries were Canada, USA, U.K., Singapore and Norway. The USA is catching up to Canada, and the U.K. is typically third or fourth.

How many bidders came from the internet and how many from other sources (live on the floor, mail etc.)? There was a total of 540 different bidders, 283 came through the internet. However there were a few dozen bidders who both gave us advance bids and bid on the internet; or were on the floor for part of the auction and on the internet for part. It would take too long to sort it out but it is safe to say that half the bidders come from the internet and half the traditional way. Another thing which is important is that many of the longer invoices were from bidders who used the internet AND a traditional venue.

How many “stink” bids did we get? Some people put in a “watching” bid on the internet and are perhaps prepared to pay the full estimate and “watch” it by bidding $2; then if the lot opens above the estimate we see no further bid. It is a subjective call whether a low bid is watching or is a bid where someone hopes that no one else will bid on the mint $5 Jubilee and he will buy it for a tiny fraction of its value. If we isolate stink bids, the number is very, very low and perhaps under one percent.

All of these figures (although possibly boring to many!) tell consignors that there is an active market and all types of philatelic material can attract enough bidding that usually full market price will be realized. To our bidders: don’t despair, there are still bargains to be had!

During the next few months we will update you on the consignments for the next auction which will be in the Spring.  We have already received an amazing amount only three weeks after Auction 7.  Check back here regularly for news.

Highlight #13 — A Last Highlight

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With these highlights, we have tried to convey a sense of the immense scope of a public auction.

To date we have barely mentioned postal history. Among the better items in Session #5 are Lots 1309, 1310, and 1311.

Lot 1311 — Canada #10 1857 6d reddish purple Consort on thick fibrous paper, with four clear to immense margins, well tied by #21 4-ring numeral cancel to cover from Parkman correspondence sent from Montreal AP.26.1857 to Boston, Mass, USA. This stamp is rarely encountered in top quality with only a handful of covers available in comparable quality. Accompanied by 1988 David Brandon certificate. Unitrade CV$10,000.

We’ve not mentioned the better items of France and Germany as well as other rarities in the worldwide section — lots like USA #1 to #4, (Lot 1113); the Czech Music Sheets (Lot 1165); many lots of classic France (including Lots 1181, 1182, 1185 and 1198); Germany with IPOSTA and two Feeding the Hungry souvenir sheets; as well as many better single items.

Lot 1182 — France #21c 1862 1fr lake Napoleon re-issue, lovely example with full original gum, hinged, with four large margins including sheet margin at left, very fine and a lovely stamp in every aspect. Scott CV$1800.

In the British Commonwealth only the Baden Powell stamps have been singled out, but for the first time we can offer all the Victorian high values up to the five pound Orange.

Lot 912 — Great Britain #93 1882 £5 bright orange Victoria on white paper, Anchor watermark, with good colour and a reasonable dated cancel, very fine in all respects. A lovely example of this popular high value. Scott CV$5000.

We have touched on some features in Canada but have not yet highlighted the wonderful section of the 1897 Jubilees nor the great pence issues including Lots 207, 224, 226, 234, and 235 to name just five, each worthy of being highlighted.

Lot 226 — Canada #7 1855 10d blue Cartier on thin crisp transparent paper, unused with well clear to huge margins on each side, showing adjoining stamp at right and very fine appearance but with horizontal crease and trivial corner thin. The stamp has gum, which could be redistributed original gum but identified as regummed in the accompanying 2010 Richard Gratton AIEP certificate. An attractive example of this rare mint Pence issue. Unitrade CV$12,000.

Despite all these omissions, if there is one group of lots especially worthy of being singled out it is the Healy Pass collection of plated three penny beavers. Can you see the famous gouge flaw on the scan of Lot 85? (Click the scan for an even more detailed enlargement.)

Lot 85 — 3d red on medium paper, identified as 2nd state "Gouge", nice full to large margins all around, fresh colour, tied by square grid cancel to mourning cover sent from Toronto JU.18.58 to Hamilton with next day arrival backstamp, very fine. Estimate $350.

We hope you enjoy the auction and that you are successful in your bids.

Highlight #12 — What Appeals To You? (Part 2)

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Sparks Auctions will have hundreds of bidders who will, we hope, place thousands of bids. Very, very few lots get multiple bids from different bidders. Some expensive lots will receive a number of bids from people realizing that, for example, $2000 in usable postage is a steal at only $2; so bids of $10, 20, 50, 100, 200 etc. might be placed. Other lots of real value might slip by the attention of most potential bidders and sell well below their real value. That is where placing lots of bids (perhaps combined with a limit on purchases) can result in picking up bargains.

And we have a exceptionally diverse group of lots and collections on offer. We offer collections from dozens of countries. Our usual offerings of extensive collections of Canada and to a lesser extent Great Britain and USA are tempting. There are strong collections of Barbados, Bermuda, Cuba, Fiji, France, Germany, Monaco, and New Zealand, to name a few. There are many others with a greater or lesser degree of specialization. Lot 1986 may very well be under-described because so many of the identified varieties are not Scott listed.

Lot 1986 — Eastern Europe 1860s-1960s Mint/Used Collections of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia housed in three volumes, plus Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Russia and Yugoslavia. Owner has identified stamps according to perfs, papers and watermarks which have not been verified by us. Some light duplication, average condition, some stamps affected by poor storage. Despite these negative comments, if you have an interest in this area, you will want to thoroughly inspect this lot as it contains many scarcer issues. Estimate $500.

Many collections are found in old albums dating from the 1800s to the period between the World Wars. Two examples are:

Lot 1957 — Four old-time albums, with two Scott Junior Internationals to about 1915, a Scott album circa 1900 and an Yvert and Tellier blank album with a few stamps from the 1920s. The first 2 each contain hundreds of stamps, though U.S.A. is stripped in each and Great Britain in one. We note quantities of early China and a few interesting covers. Condition varies. If you only have time to view one lot, this would be a good choice. Overall mostly about fine. Estimate $250.

Lot 1962 — 1896 Excelsior Album 1840-1908. Apparently never added to or stripped out since about 1908 with many hundreds of classic stamps, strong, as expected, in the European countries, U.S.A. and Canada (1897 Jubilees to $1 unused but stuck down). Strength is in used which are hinged and typically have fresh colour and some postmark interest. A good representation from smaller British Commonwealth and some other smaller countries. Condition mixed as always in a collection of this kind. Estimate $750.

There are multi-album collections like Lot 1758, a 26-volume collection of British Commonwealth. There are accumulations found in bundleware Lot 1515 (with about one million stamps), and others in file drawers like Lot 1950, or still in envelopes like Lot 1928.

Lot 1928 — Collector’s worldwide accumulation, organized by country in envelopes mostly mint with some used throughout. An interesting accumulation filling half a large carton. Many stamps are in sets. We note the following: 1956 Jamaica definitive set, 1902-1903 Labuan crown set, 1935 st. Helena Silver Jubilee set, 1903 St. Kitts-Nevis first issue, a few French imperfs from the 1980s, 1937-1940 French Equatorial Africa pictorials, 1929-1940 French Guiana pictorials, 1938 Bahamas KGVI definitives, 1953 British Honduras QEII pictorial definitives, 1968 B.I.O.T. pictorial definitives and many more. Also includes a large envelope with the following: Gutter pairs from around the world, 1973 Princess Anne’s Wedding, 1972 QEII Silver Wedding Anniversary, 1978 25th Anniversary of QEII Coronation and the 1980 Queen Mothers 80th Birthday. A great selection of stamps. Estimate $500.

We have a Post Office sign in Lot 2114, any of several cartons of literature, topical and thematic collections, and many lots of useable postage. We think there is something for everyone; but if we made that claim too loudly then we would hear how we don’t have kiloware from the Malagasy Republic, or classic Mongolia on cover!

One final group is the 35 collections from the Lindhurst consignment which are written up in the catalogue on page 133. Unfortunately this text does not appear in the online catalogue but you can read the text by clicking on this link. Postal history lots 1387 and 1469 are also from the Lindhurst consignment.

Highlight #8 — Specialization in collecting

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Many people (and especially those who Exhibit competitively) have a favorite stamp issue and extend their collecting interests well beyond the basic listings in the Scott or Unitrade catalogues.

The Canada "Medallions" of 1932 are just one example of a stamp issue where this auction offers to go beyond the scope of the catalogue. We offer 10 individual lots (571 to 579 followed by a booklet as Lot 660). These are all good and will delight new buyers, but two are of special interest.

Lot 574 — Canada #199a 1932 5¢ dark blue KGV Medallion, horizontal pair imperforate vertically, mint never hinged and very fine. Accompanied by 2009 Richard Gratton AIEP certificate. A rare error to locate in any quality, let alone in this lovely never hinged quality. Unitrade CV$3500.

This is the key item of the issue as listed in the catalogues.

To go with the five cent value error, there is another lot which offers distinctive colours which you will not find referenced in the basic catalogues.

Lot 573 — Canada #199 1932 5¢ KGV Medallion dark, deep and slate blue shades, five blocks in five distinct shades: darkest deep blue (9 F-VF), dark blue (24 F-VF plate No. 1 LL – damage to selvedge), blue (24 F-VF plate No. 1 UL – hinge remnants in selvedge), slate blue (16 fine plate No. 2 LL) and light slate blue (35 mostly VF, partial plate 2, light crease in 2). All stamps never hinged, fine-very fine. Unitrade CV$2940.

This lot was originally in the huge King George V never hinged Lot 1611, which has a massive Scott catalogue value of $42,567.

Lot 1611 — 1897-1949 Large stockbook of mint never hinged from an old-time accumulation. All stamps never hinged, mostly in part panes, blocks and large multiples (such as blocks of 9 or more). Strength in KGV era. Some multiples have inscriptions in the selvedge. We note: 1897 1¢ orange Jubilee strip of 4, 1911 7¢ red brown Admiral in four blocks of 4, 1930 50¢ dull blue Grand Pré single and pair, large blocks (including plate numbers) of the 1931 10¢ green Cartier, blocks of the 1932 Medallion series, large blocks of the 1932 13¢ dull violet Quebec Citadel, half pane (folded) of the 1934 3¢ Jacques Cartier, a number of large blocks of the 13¢ blue Britannia, large blocks of the 1935 1¢-8¢ KGV series, large blocks (including some of 20) of the 1935 10¢ Mountie. Overall centering of this selection is typical with better items to be found. Scott CV$42,567.

This might be quite a bargain but it will take a big budget to add so many Medallion blocks to your collection.  On the other hand it might be possible to buy the lot and sell off much of it to cover the whole cost, leaving some great items at no cost but your time and expertise.

Auction #7, November 8-10th, 2010

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Sparks Auctions is pleased to announce our Auction #7, to be held at our premises from Monday November 8 to November 10th, 2010.

We begin Auction 7 with The Healy Pass Collection, a one-owner specialized collection of sufficient caliber to merit a separate session. This plated collection of the Canada Three Penny Beavers, named for a hiking area in the Canadian Rockies, was assembled by a collector and student of the issue.

Better items from our Canada section include more than 200 lots of pence issues with some extremely fine examples. Nearly 100 lots of the 1859, 1868, and 1870 issues offer something for many specialized collections. The Jubilees are represented by a set of Die Proofs and considerable choice in the high values. The balance of Canada offers extremely fine stamps, major varieties, rarities such as the 1908 Quebec Die Proof set, and back of the book including semi-officials and locals.

Worldwide stamps include the high values of Victorian Great Britain, key values from Bangkok, Mafeking, Rhodesia, USA, France and Germany.

Postal History offers many attractive single lots and a cornucopia of carton lots, most of these from the estate of the original addressee. Non-BNA postal history is the strongest we have offered.

Finally, there are 611 lots containing collections and cartons of fun, more than doubling the 278 such lots in our last auction. The extra weeks of work to adequately describe these, as well as the hundreds of scans (available in detail in our Image Gallery, linked at right), should help bidders and viewers assess the interest and value. It is an overwhelming scale and assortment of previously owned and cherished collections..

The catalogue will be mailed to all regular bidders and subscribers when it returns from printing, likely the week of October 11th. Next week, we will begin featuring interesting and noteworthy items in more detail each day here on our site. With the image gallery of additional and detailed scans, the opening bids, and links to bidding at Stamp Auction Network, we believe you will have all you need to bid in a comprehensive and interesting sale.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian customers, and may our American cousins have a good Columbus Day weekend!

-Sparks Auctions

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