Early Canadian stamps, varieties plus worldwide large lots and collections highlighted R. Maresch & Son’s 565th unreserved public auction last month.
Nearly 1,350 lots, including the main portion of late dealer Rob Taylor’s estate, crossed the block over two sessions on Nov. 3-4. Overall, the auctioneers were once again impressed with the sale’s high interest and strong bidding, both of which have bolstered the philatelic market throughout the pandemic as collectors took more time for their hobbies.
“I thought it went really well,” said auctioneer Peter Maresch, the grandson of the firm’s founder Richard Maresch. “It’s the same as usual. You get some material you think is worth a lot more than other material, so you think something is worth $100, and then people get carried away, and all of a sudden it’s at $500. But that’s an unreserved auction for you: anything is possible.”
Lot 380 offered three perforated ‘Pence’ issues, including (from left to right) the half-penny rose issued in 1858 plus the three-penny red ‘Beaver’ and six-pence brown violet Prince Albert both issued in 1859. Together, they brought $925 on a $350-plus estimate.
Total realizations at the two-day sale topped “at least” 135 per cent of the pre-sale estimates, according to Maresch, who added the firm’s previous auction – held in June – also hit that mark.
The material from Taylor, who died this April after 15 years as the owner of Taylor Stamps in Brampton, Ont. (“‘A shock’ as Ontario dealer Rob Taylor dies at 69,” CSN Vol. 46 #2), spanned 221 lots.
“Again, this is the hard part, but a lot of the stuff he had had faults,” said Maresch, who added some of Taylor’s stock topped expectations while most of his material – identified in the lot descriptions as faulty – had a harder time reaching their estimates. “Some of the collectors are plating them, and they’re happy to buy them at those prices because they can buy them reasonably since they’re faulty copies, so they did better than we thought.”
The remainder of his dealer stock will be offered at a future Maresch sale, the next of which include a general sale in March, a “special” British North American proof collection crossing the block in May and the CAPEX 22 auction in June, Maresch said.
CSN published a full review of the recent Maresch sale in Vol. 46 #17.