stamp collecting

Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the International Stamps

A reader recently contacted Unexpected Treasures with a question regarding some international stamps. We aren't experts in philately but luckily, we've got friends in the stamp world. Charles Shreve, President of Spink Shreves Galleries in Dallas, Texas and New York, New York was kind enough to take a look at the pictures our reader sent in.

Luxist reader Beth reports that she received the collection from her grandfather. The stamps included the first one shown above which appears to be an error from Nicaragua. Stamp errors can in some cases be worth millions. The Inverted Jenny is the most famous example of this type of error which occurs when a sheet gets flipped upside down between press runs. The stamp shown at right isn't a true error. Charles Shreve says that it is what is called a freak rather than a true error which refers to an inverted center, a missing color or another major defect. This stamp is a misperforated stamp which is not unusual on this particular series of stamps from Nicaragua, which are called "Seebeck" issues. It has very little commercial value.

Tags: philately, spink shreves, stamp collecting, stamps, unexpected treasures

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Rare Stamps Up For Auction For Charity

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Big Givers

PIMCO Founder Bill Gross or as I call him, the philanthropic philatelist, is at it again selling off more rare and valuable postage stamps for good causes. The latest auction being held by Spink Shreves Galleries of New York City and Dallas features stamps from France, Germany and China. The auction on May 19 in New York City is conservatively estimated to bring $1 million or more. All proceeds from the sale will be donated by Gross and his wife, Sue, to the Emergency Relief Fund of the nonprofit organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The historic stamps, including some dating back to the earliest days of French postal history, will be displayed in London, England and New York prior to the sale.

The stamp above overprinted "CHINA" and postmarked in Shanghai is a rare three Pfennig denomination stamp from 1898 was used for German offices in China. It has a catalog value today of $23,000.

Tags: bill gross, philanthropists, philatelist, philately, pimco total return, stamp collecting, stampshady-grimm

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Lincoln Stamp Collection Fetches Close to Two Million Dollars

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

At the Spink Shreves Galleries in New York, an auction proved that stamp collectors are still willing to spend money. A stamp collection centered on President Abraham Lincoln brought in almost $2 million (including commissions).

The stamps came from a collection by a retired executive from accounting and consulting firm KPMG. William Ainsworth inherited his father's stamp collection more than 40 years ago. Until 1977, he paid it little mind, but a meeting with a former postmaster general changed his thinking. Ainsworth began to build upon the already substantial collection, with a particular focus on Lincoln.

The collection included 19th and 20th century American stamps with the sixteenth president, along with tax stamps, private issues, proofs and test printings. A mint-condition set of 90 cent stamps (issued in 1869) pulled in $149,600, and a 1909 registered letter with a pair of blue 5 cent Lincoln stamps (sans customary perforations) was good for $77,725.

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Tags: abraham lincoln, AbrahamLincoln, auction, auction-house, auctions, philatelist, president, stamp, stamp collecting, StampCollecting, stamps

Rare South American Stamps Set For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

A few months ago we told you about the rarest stamp in the world which is worth several million dollars. This June, you can bid on a stamp that is a similar range of value. it's the Pack Strip, shown above, a strip of two 30-reis and one 60-reis stamps joined together (it's named after one of its early owners Charles Lathrop Pack). The strip is an example of stamps from Brazil made in 1842. They are called bull's eyes because the denomination sits in the center of a target-like shape.

The sale of this stamp is part of the auction of the world's most valuable private collection of South American postage stamps. The collection was assembled over four decades by a retired college professor who now lives on an island and will be will be offered in a public auction in New York City and online by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries on June 5 and 6, 2008.

The auction also includes from Buenos Aires, Argentina, the only surviving example of the 1859 one-peso "tête-bêche," which is French for head-to-foot, and the term collectors use to describe a pair of stamps that are printed upside down to each other. It has a pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $500,000. From Chile there is an envelope with a unique block of 14 lithographed 5-centavo stamps of 1854 which is $400,000 to $500,000. From Colombia there is a letter with a 5-centavo and a10-centavo stamp dated September 1, 1859, the first day these very first stamps of Colombia were issued The pre-sale estimate is $200,000 to $300,000.

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Tags: auction, philatelist, stamp collecting, stamps

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