Described by auctioneers as a “remarkable” collection of 10-cent Prince Albert stamps (Scott #17), the Victorian-era assemblage topped its estimate by more than $500 US this August.
Offered by Connecticut’s Daniel Kelleher Auctions, the collection of 1859 stamps comprised 11 Elbe linen-hinged pages, offering “an amazing range of shades by printing numbers, identified re-entries … plus other unlisted varieties,” auctioneers said. Described as being in “Fine to Very Fine or better” condition, with all of the stamps used, the collection crossed the auction block for $2,500 US (about $3,130 Cdn.) on an estimate of $1,500 US-$2,000 US as Lot 2385.
It was sold during Kelleher’s “Collections, Stocks and Accumulations of the World” sale on Aug. 6-7.
TOP-SELLING LOT
The top seller among the 682-lot sale was Lot 2188, described as a “powerful panacea of high-ticket unused singles.” With roughly 135 U.S. stamps from the 19th century – including issues between U.S. Scott #1 and #260 – they came on original Bill’s Bargain Stamps dealer cards.
The lot sold for $42,500 US (about $53,250 Cdn.) on an estimate of $30,000 US-$40,000 US (and a retail value of more than $250,000 US).
Late dealer Bill Langs, of Hackensack, N.J., the owner of Bill’s Bargain Stamps, died on July 7, 2020, at age 61.
Kelleher has offered Langs’ holdings in a series of auctions beginning last October.