A three-stamp set issued for one of the most celebrated aviation events of the 1930s will be among the highlights when Garden City Philatelic Auctions holds its 10th general sale on Oct. 17.
The 1933 Iceland “Hopflug Itala” overprint set, offered as Lot 372, was issued in connection with Italian aviator Italo Balbo’s mass transatlantic flight to North America.
The one-krona, five-krona and 10-krona stamps are described as mint never hinged, fresh and fine. Together, they carry a Scott catalogue value of US$5,475.
The two lower denominations bear expert handstamps from Aimé Brun, while all three stamps also carry an owner’s handstamp.
AVIATION HISTORY
Balbo led a formation of Italian seaplanes across the Atlantic in 1933, with stops that included Iceland before the aircraft continued to North America. The flight became one of the era’s most widely publicized aviation achievements and generated philatelic material that remains sought after by collectors of airmail and flight-related stamps and postal history.
The Icelandic stamps were created by overprinting existing issues with “Hopflug Itala 1933,” linking them directly to the flight.
The set will cross the auction block as part of a wide-ranging sale of Canadian and worldwide stamps and postal history beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific time and 11 a.m. Eastern.
CANADA FEATURED
Canadian collectors will also see the next instalment of the Rob Leigh collection of early Canadian postal history.
Another major component of the sale is part two of Steve Wheeler’s extensive 100-volume collection of mint Scandinavian material. The collection provides a substantial Scandinavian presence alongside the Balbo flight set.
Garden City will also offer Admiral postal history from the Rick Parama collection, mint Falkland Islands singles and sets, plus philatelic literature and supplies.
LIVE BIDDING
The Oct. 17 auction will be conducted live through StampAuctionNetwork using its AutoHammer system.
Collectors can register with Garden City through StampAuctionNetwork and place advance bids before the auction. Advance bids can also be submitted directly to the auction house by email or telephone, preferably at least 24 hours before the sale.
During the live auction, approved bidders can participate online in real time. The AutoHammer system adds 15 seconds whenever a new bid is received before proceeding to the next lot. Collectors may also make arrangements to bid through an auction agent.
The complete catalogue is available through StampAuctionNetwork for viewing and advance bidding. Garden City also maintains an online corrections and updates page to identify any changes to lot descriptions made after the catalogue was published.