The first of four sales of Ron Brigham’s international Grand Prix-winning Province of Canada collection, the last material held by the late philatelist before his death last August, rewrote the record books in the days leading up to spring. The March 17 sale offered 163 lots centring on the three-pence and five-cent “Beaver” issues (Scott #1 and SC #15) plus other early Canadian classics. The hammer prices proved “out of this world,” according to Yohann Tanguay, the chief describer with Eastern Auctions, which is handling the Brigham sales. With total realizations more than doubling the firm’s combined pre-sale estimates, the sale provided seemingly endless highlights with at least a handful of major records broken. “Realizations were well above average across the entire sale,” said long-time dealer and auctioneer Gary Lyon, the owner of Eastern Auctions and Gary J. Lyon (Philatelist) Ltd. in Bathurst, N.B. “From the very first lot that sold for $475,000, there was strong demand from multiple bidders on almost every single lot. We were extremely pleased with the final results.” Continue reading →
Late philatelist Ron Brigham, who died in August, provided Canada Post with the original black die proof for the 1851 three-pence ‘Beaver’ stamp when the Crown corporation designed a replica issue for the stamp’s 150th anniversary in 2001. The proof sold for $62,500 on a $35,000 estimate as Lot 2.
