Canadian Stamp Auctions

22 June , 2011 - Vance Auctions Ltd.

It's always exciting to see stamps selling for high prices. In this auction, we spotted 5 of them and they were from countries other than Canada. This shows once again, how international stamp collecting is. Here they are:

Australia (F-VF LH)

Lot 1301 Scott 102 Catalogue $5,250 Realized $4,600

Bermuda (F NG, minor crease, ex Burris)

Lot 1496 Scott 11 Catalogue $19,000 Realized $9,400

India (VF NH)

Lot 2649 Scott 206 Catalogue $300 Realized $440

Mauritius (VF, from earliest impression, large even margins, ex Burris & Kanai)

Lot 3036 Scott 4 Catalogue $21,000 Realized $6,500

Newfoundland (VF LH, signed on reverse)

Lot 4579 Scott C5 Catalogue $12,000 Realized $6,500

We received an interesting comment from Vance, who observed that India is very hot right now. So, keep an eye out not only for the stamps of China, but India as well.

A Real Beauty

Lot 5477 Scott 89 Catalogue $67 Realized $123

What a lovely looking stamp this appears to be. It sold for 2 x catalogue. We were a bit surprised that it did not go for more and decided to review it more closely. We turned it upside down to check the centering but that was just fine. We checked the perforations, top and bottom, then left side and right side, using the techniques we learned from a dealer when we first started buying quality stamps. This inspection revealed a few "rounded perfs” midway down the right side.

Did all the bidders in the sale do the same thing? Were they all that careful? Could they simply tell at a glance what we may have missed? Or was there not much competition? We really wonder. After all, this is a beautiful copy and the Edward VII set is right in the middle of the Canadian stamps that are most in demand. The best price for this stamp in the past 10 years was $ 291.

10¢ Edward - Top Margin Imperforate Pair

Lot 5497 Scott 93a Catalogue $1,200 Realized $750

This imperforate pair comes without gum. It is quite rare with only 100 pairs in existence. The above copy has lovely margins and comes from the top of the sheet.

A beautiful Plate Block

Lot 5657 Unitrade 147 PB Catalogue $202 Realized $100

This sale had a large number of very fine blocks, including plate blocks like this one. This one was issued at a time when it took six stamps to make a plate block, not four as is common today. We liked the quality of this block. It was VF NH and unusually well centered.

Unfortunately, as we have noticed, there does not seem to be a high demand for plate blocks these days as the above price demonstrates. It's a pity as these blocks must be quite scarce. But, we can't argue with collectors’ tastes. Some stamps are in and others are out. They are simply waiting to be discovered. Just think about collectors in the 1950s that put away VF NH Admirals. They are laughing now all the way to the bank.

Another “HHH“ imperforate Pair - what does “HHH” mean?

Lot 5706 Scott 173a Catalogue $2,400 Realized $2,070

In 1973, J. N. Sissons held an auction in Toronto featuring the stamps from the estate of Dr. Harris H. Hopkins, late of Kalamazoo Michigan. Dr. Hopkins, a long time client of Mr. Sissons, used a neat rubber stamp with the initials “HHH” on the back of many of his rarer stamps. This Sissons sale was our first time participating in a public stamp auction and we found the experience very exciting.

The above pair comes from that earlier sale. At that time, it was the bottom pair of a block of 4. The block sold for $725 or $362 a pair. As indicated above, the bottom pair has now realized $2070, quite an increase.

In 1973, we wouldn't have thought of bidding on this stamp because of the “HHH” back stamp. But today, we get nostalgic for those early times of our auction experience when we see it and are not so sure!

Valuable Perfins

Lot 6123 Scott OA 159 Catalogue $400 Realized $375

Lot 6135 Scott O237 Catalogue $200 Realized $232

For those of you who specialize in “perfins”, there was a good selection offered in the sale, including the two above. Nice prices !

Dionne Quintuplets

We found it particularly interesting to see these two postcards in the sale featuring Canada's Dionne quintuplets. These five children were born in the early 1930s just outside Callander, Ontario. They became world-famous because it was obviously unusual for a mother to give birth to five children all at one time and for all of them to be girls.

1936

Lot 6966

1938

Lot 4825

For more details of this sale, please click on the highlights button.