A right-margin corner block of four 1870 one-cent orange Small Queen stamps (Scott #35d) leads an upcoming online-only auction by R. Maresch & Son.
In perforation 11.5 by 12 and with “full streaky” original gum, the block features three never-hinged stamps plus one – at the bottom left – once “kissed by a hinge,” said auctioneer Peter Maresch. While several of the block’s bottom perforations are ragged, Maresch called the lot “very fine and rare.”
Accompanied by a 2003 BPA Expertising certificate, the block carries a catalogue value of $6,000 as Lot 3375. It crosses the auction block alongside more than 2,150 lots on Aug. 11.
As of Aug. 9 at 11 a.m., bidding on this lot reached $1,350.
Described by auctioneers as an ‘exceedingly rare showpiece,’ an 1865 cover mailed from Wilmot, N.S., to Harbour Grace, Nfld., is expected to bring at least $3,500 as Lot 4372.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Other highlights of this week’s online Maresch sale include:
- Lot 3097, an 1817 transatlantic folded cover mailed from Greenock, Scotland, to Montréal with a postmark dated April 11, 1817, a manuscript reading “Per Rebecca, Cap’t Harvie” and an estimate of $500-plus;
- Lot 3166, a scarce 10-cent Nesbitt envelope (Scott #U2) with a Hamilton duplex cancel dated March 21, 1864, mailed to Port Huron, Mich., with a red straightline handstamp reading “PAID / CANADA 10 CENTS” and a catalogue value of $2,100;
- Lot 3212, an 1858 half-penny rose stamp on vertically ribbed paper (SC #8b) with a four-ring “21” cancel and a catalogue value of $2,750;
- Lot 3259, an 1868 two-cent deep green “Large Queen” on thin paper (SC #24b) from the first printing with a catalogue value of $1,400;
- Lot 3611, an 1897 20-cent deep vermilion “Jubilee” stamp (SC #59ii) featuring the “W-E” variety with a catalogue value of $800;
- Lot 3940, a never-hinged block of four 1930 $1 dark olive-green Mount Edith Cavell stamps (SC #177) with original gum and a catalogue value of $1,500;
- Lot 4037, an imperforate block of four 1973 15-cent Musical Ride stamps (SC #614a) with the top pair never hinged and a catalogue value of $1,200;
- Lot 4128, a complete sheet of 100 1906 two-cent violet postage due stamps (SC #J2) from the lower-left pane, used with Toronto “35” rollers (for accounting purposes) and showing “Type A” lathework plus several “OTTAWA-No-A 3” and “920B” imprints with an estimate of $2,500-plus;
- Lot 4274, a set of never-hinged 1903 law stamp specimens – $4 to $50 (SC #OL61-OL65) – complete in punch-cancelled blocks of four, formerly owned by late Senator James Calder (a Roll of Distinguished Philatelists signatory and British North America philatelic expert) with an estimate of $200-plus; and
- Lot 4372, an “exceedingly rare showpiece” cover mailed from Wilmot, N.S., to Harbour Grace, Nfld., with one- and 12.5-cent Nova Scotia stamps (Nova Scotia #8, #13) both tied by grid cancels with a postmark dated March 2, 1865, and an estimate of $3,500-plus.
Late Senator James Calder, who signed the iconic Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1947 for his work in British North America philately, once owned a set of 1903 law stamp specimens slated to cross the block this week as Lot 4274 with an estimate of $200-plus. Photo by Library of Congress via CC BY-SA 4.0.
OFFICIAL CAPEX AUCTIONEER
Based in Aurora, Ont., the Maresch firm is also the official auctioneer for CAPEX 22, coming to downtown Toronto next June 9-12.
“R. Maresch & Son held an auction at CAPEX 78, and were the official auctioneer at CAPEX 87 and CAPEX 96,” said owner Peter Maresch, who added his firm “is the oldest continually operating stamp auction firm and dealer in Canada, and we look forward to CAPEX 22.”
At CAPEX 22, Maresch will offer the Fred Fawn Collection, among the highlights of which is the only known full sheet of the 15-cent Large Queen stamp (Scott #29) issued in 1868.
The show will be Canada’s first international exhibition in more than a quarter-century and its fifth international show since 1951. In addition to a World One-Frame Stamp Championship exhibition, the show will feature an 84-booth bourse, society meetings, seminars and more.