BillGross

The Philanthropic Philatelist Strikes Again

We've seen PIMCO founder Bill Gross sells off some of his philatelic treasures for a good cause before, now he's at it again, selling a portion of his stamp collection to benefit a Smithsonian museum. Next month, Gross, who I've dubbed the Philanthropic Philatelist, will sell off two portions of his extensive stamp collection to raise funds for the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Estimated to bring $3 million. many of the 214 Civil War-era Confederate States and early Canadian postage stamps are one-of-a-kind or the finest known.

The auction will be conducted by Spink Shreves Galleries in New York City and online, November 19, 2009. All proceeds of the sale will be donated by Gross and his wife, Sue, to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. Items include a unique 1861 Confederate postage stamp from Mount Lebanon, Louisiana that is the world's only known stamp misprinted with a mirror image of the intended design. In 1999 Gross paid a record $385,000 for the stamp that is still affixed to the envelope on which it was mailed nearly 150 years ago. A mint condition 1851 Canadian 12 pence denomination black stamp depicting a young Queen Victoria of England is estimated to sell for $150,000 or more.

Gross has pledged $8 million to create a 12,000 square-foot gallery in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum's planned, new street level facility in Washington, DC and proceeds from this auction will be part of that donation. "With all sale proceeds being given to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, I hope that all collectors will aggressively participate in these two auctions, not only to add wonderful rarities to their collections, but to help ensure that future generations of collectors will be created and introduced to the hobby we all enjoy," said Gross.

UPDATE: This sale brought in $3.2 million.

Gallery: Bill Gross Auction

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Big Givers: Philanthropic Philatelist Plans Big Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Charity, Big Givers

Our latest Big Giver is Wall Street bond manager, Bill Gross, or as I like to fondly call him, the Philanthropic Philatelist, will offer the Scandinavia portion of his extensive, international stamp collection in a public auction which is conservatively estimated to bring over $1 million. Proceeds from the collection's sale will be donated by Sue and Bill Gross to the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The Spink Shreves Galleries of New York City and Dallas will conduct the sale in New York City on May 16, 2008.

The collection has 110 rare and even several one-of-a-kind 19th and early 20th century Scandinavian stamps including an unusual printing 152 years ago of Finland's first postage stamps that shows adjoining images that are upside down to each other, a peculiar placement known as tête-bêche. Charles Shreve of Spink Shreves Galleries says that the piece, a mint condition block of four stamps containing two pair of 10 kopek denomination stamps, the first stamps of Finland from 1856, is one of only three known and estimated to sell for $100,000 to $150,000; however, Shreve expects the winning bid will be even higher.

This isn't the Gross's first shot at stamp philanthropy, the Great Britain portion of his stamp collection was sold through Spink Shreves Galleries in June 2007, and he and his wife, Sue, donated the entire $9.1 million auction proceeds to charity.

The Millennium Villages Project is working to create health, education, agriculture and infrastructure programs to help some of the poorest people throughout the African continent through simple concrete means such as bed nets to fight malaria, seeds and fertilizer to increase food production, the building of schools and clinics, and safe water. The stamps will be displayed for potential bidders at the Spink Galleries in London, England, May 5 – 7, and at the New York City offices of the auction house, May 9 – 12 and May 15.

Gallery: The Philanthropic Philatelist