Canadian collectors will be keeping an eye south of the border this month, as three U.S. auction houses are offering Canadian stamps.
On Jan 21-22 Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, of Danbury, Conn., will be offering the first part of the Boca collection, including Canadian and British North American stamps and postal history.
Rick Penko, of Kelleher, said the sale is part of a larger event, which also includes United States, British, and world material.
“We’re still cataloguing it, but the sale will probably run around 900 lots,” he said. “There is some really scarce and exotic material. Much of this hasn’t been on the market for some time and I think it will generate some excitement among BNA collectors.”
Penko pointed out that an example of the famed London to London 25-cent flight stamps are considered one of the finest known.
The 25-cent semi-official stamps, Unitrade #CLP6, were printed in 1927 to help fund a flight from London, Ont., to London, England.
Carling Breweries had offered a $25,000 prize for the first flight, with candidates allowed a stop in Newfoundland for refuelling.
The stamps were produced to help fund the flight, and showed the pilots, Capt. Terrence B. Tully and Lt. James Medcalf, their aircraft Sir John Carling, and a globe. The stamps were carried with them on their flight. The pair left London on Sept. 5, 1927, stopped in Harbour Grace, Nfld., for fuel, and flew off for Britain, never to be seen again.
The only surviving stamps are a small number which were never used.
The sale also includes tête-bêch examples of the booklet stamps for Queen Victoria 1898 numeral issue two-cent carmine, Unitrade #77; and the 1903 Edward VII two-cent carmine, Unitrade #90.
There is also a pair of the 1916 King George V Admiral issue 10-cents plum, Unitrade #116, with lathe work below in the selvedge; and a pair of the 1926 admiral provisional two-cents overprint on three-cents carmine, with one large and one small overprint, Unitrade #139v.
The sale has a block of 12 of the 1860 Nova Scotia five-cents blue, Unitrade #10, with selvedge along the top four stamps.
For more information go to www.kelleherauctions.com.
Scarce re-entry
Spink USA also has a nice selection of Canadian and British North American in its sale, also Jan. 21-22, being held in New York City.
The stamps take up several hundred lots in a large sale including several scarcities.
Among them is an example of Canada’s 1851 three-penny beaver, with a major re-entry, position 47 from pane A. Listed as Unitrade #1iii, Spink lists its catalogue value as $60,000.
“That is a rare stamp to begin with,” George Eveleth of Spink told Canadian Stamp News, “and this could be the only unused example of this rarity.”
Described as unused, and with a Greene Foundation Certificate, it has a catalogue value of $6,000.
The stamp, considered Canada’s first postage stamp, was designed by Sir Sandford Fleming.
A re-entry is a second entry on a plate made by re-rocking the transfer roll either to fix a poor impression or extend the use of a plate.
According to Eveleth, the stamps in the sale come from a variety of sources. Much of it is new material that has been off the market for some time.
“There are a few lots from an estate in Toronto that has been in storage since the mid-1960s,” he said. “Another consigner is a high quality collector based in the U.S., some of that has been off the market since it was purchased from the Baillie sales.”
Sir Gawaine Baillie was a noted British collector whose collection was sold in a series of landmark sales between 2004 and 2007.
Other stamps include an 1851 New Brunswick one shilling bright red violate, Unitrade #3, unused and also with a certificate, with a catalogue value of $32,500.
There is also an 1851 Canadian Queen Victoria 12 penny black, Unitrade #3, in Mint with original gum and a Royal Philatelic Society certificate, estimated at $160,000.
There are also a number of covers and multiples.
For more information go to www.spink.com.
Moose mania
A scarce missing moose (Unitrade #1693a) variety appears in Regency-Superior’s Orcoexpo auction, being held Jan. 9-11 in Anaheim, CA.
The error was created when the brown and green colours were omitted in printing the 2003 $5 high-definitive stamp. As a result the moose, grass, and trees are all missing.
The Unitrade catalogue states that between eight and 12 sheets were discovered. Reportedly all but one sheet have been broken up for sale to collectors.
The error, with a catalogue value of $7,500, is estimated at $5,000 US.
The sale also includes a selection of Canadian stamps from early to modern era.
The airmail section includes a tête-bêche pane of 10 Fairchild Air Transport stamps for Northern Ontario to Rouyn Goldfields, (Unitrade #CL12b) with two shades, in Mint Never Hinged. The stamps have a catalogue value of $1,500. There are also a number of Newfoundland airmail surcharge stamps.
For more information go to www.regencysuperior.com.