The show will go on! I am referring to the National Postage Stamp Show, formerly run by the Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association (CSDA). However, we are expanding it to include coins, paper money and other exonumia materials. First, I want to deliver a loud shout-out to Rick Day, president of the CSDA and its executive... Continue reading →
The Brigham sale had three offerings of the 1959 St. Lawrence Seaway inverted error. Lot 310 featured a rarely-seen used example, off cover with a wavy line cancel. It had a catalogue value of $10,000 and sold for $9,500.
Edward VII items proved popular in the seventh sale of the famed Brigham collection, held Jan. 16 at the Brampton Golf Club in Brampton, Ont. According to Charles Verge, chief executive officer of Brigham Auctions, the sale followed what has become a regular pattern. “It had a small floor and lots of bidders over the... Continue reading →
or years, I have maintained that stamp collecting isn't about to die out, but it is evolving. It is easy to complain that young people are no longer collecting stamps, but I don't think that young collectors have ever played much of a role in the financial health of the hobby. Young collectors usually have... Continue reading →
While several earlier Canadian flights carried mail, the 1918 flight from Montreal to Toronto was the first officially sanctioned to carry mail. This rather routine-looking cover is given some flash with the addition of two special triangular cancels.
Western Canadian postal history will dominate Eastern Auctions’ Feb. 19 sale, as well as several interesting Canadian and world lots. According to Eastern’s Yohann Tanquay, the western postal history includes a fair number of unusual and scarce items, including an essay for a stamp issue from the Riel era. The collections are from the estate... Continue reading →
“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” That familiar quote is from America’s beloved funny lady, Lucille Ball. It’s an adage we know is so true. We have all experienced it. The people we lean on the most are individuals... Continue reading →
Within the first two weeks of 2016, Canada Post released stamps honouring, from top left, Year of the Monkey, Queen Elizabeth and the new Canadian UNESCO heritage sites, including Old Town Lunenburg, N.S.
Canada Post is off to a busy start in 2016 with the launch of stamps celebrating the Year of the Monkey, five definitive stamps featuring Canadian UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a new black and white stamp of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth taken by a legendary fashion photographer. Continue reading →
I come from a large family with my siblings living across Ontario and Alberta. Each year, my “out-west” sister-in-law faithfully sends a Christmas card to my wife and I, accompanied with a photo and a one-page, one-sided letter featuring that year’s “family highlights.” Not this year, however. Instead, I received by email a really cool... Continue reading →
Lot 27 features the Edward VII accepted designs in large record die proofs, in black on thin glazed card approximately 65 by 75 mm (20 cent is slightly smaller), all from the hardened state with American Bank Note Co. Ottawa imprint and appropriate die number. This is one of three known complete sets, with the auction firm noting ‘this being the largest size.’ Lot 27 has an estimated value of $20,000.
Another two-part catalogue of the Brigham Collection of Canada will feature the Edward VII (1903-11) and Queen Elizabeth II (1953-95) collections. “Probably the greatest Edward VII collection ever assembled, it is replete with unique items such as the 1901 Composite Essay Presentation Panel which debunks the long-held belief that the post office had no intention... Continue reading →
It was while serving in the Israel Defense Forces that Isidore ‘Issie’ Baum began his 60-plus years of philatelic adventures.
By Jesse Robitaille Isidore “Issie” Baum has lived in Montreal for many of his 73 years, but his influence as a stamp dealer, community leader and family patriarch stretches across time and space. When Baum was 20-years-old, he moved to Israel, where he joined a kibbutz before eventually meeting his future wife, Zila, and fighting... Continue reading →