stamps

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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Philatelist Fantasy: New North Korean Stamps Collectors' Dream

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

What takes a mere stamp collection into the realm of the unattainable? Forget concerns of auction strategy and desirable lot. Instead, make arrangements and hop a plane ... if you can. North Korea has issued new stamps – "one souvenir sheet and three sheetlets" – to commemorate Kim Jong Il's unofficial trip to China last month. Doubtless, this would be a unique addition to any stamp holdings.

The stamps have the North Korean and Chinese flags, according to the Korea Central News Agency, and are inscribed with:

"Commemoration of the unofficial visit of the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il to the PRC," "May 5 - May 6, Juche 99 (2010)," "Commemoration of the unofficial visit of the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il to the northeastern part of China," "May 3 - May 7, Juche 99 (2010)" and "Epoch-making event in the DPRK-China friendship history."

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Tags: china, chinese, kim jong il, Kim Jong-Il, north korea, stamp, stamp collections, stamps

Going Postal: World's Most Expensive Stamp Valued at $7.4 Million

by McLean Robbins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

It seems like every time we visit the post office, the price of stamps rises - but what if your postage in question was valued at a cool $5 million pounds ($7.4 USD) with its own $14 million (USD) insurance policy?

A Swedish "Treskilling" stamp circa 1855 recently surpassed a $331,000 stamp from the Chinese Quing Dynasty as the world's most expensive stamp. Interestingly, the stamp isn't even a perfect example of its kind - the value stems partly from its yellow color, and the fact that this is the only example of its kind ever found, says Paul Nelson, vice chair of the Postal History Foundation in Tucson, Arizona. The Treskilling, or Tre Skilling, as it is also known, should be green. It was last sold for $2.3 million in 1996.

At just 0.02675 grams, the Treskilling stamp is also considered the world's most valuable item by weight. This week, you can find the stamp in Islington, London, where it is on display at the Festival of Stamps. It is expected to fetch more than $7.4 million at auction on May 22 in Switzerland.

Tags: auction, festival of stamps, most expensive stamp, philately, stamps, Treskilling

Pony Express Stamp Collection Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Although in this time of instant messaging and email on our phones we are far removed from the ideas of waiting for a letter, the Pony Express still fascinates many people. The Pony Express only operated 19 months from April 3, 1860 to October 26, 1861 but it remains iconic part of Wild West history. One of only three known surviving envelopes postmarked on the first day of Pony Express service in 1860 is among the Pony Express mail and postage stamps that will be offered in a public auction in New York City and online on December 5, 2009 by Siegel Auction Galleries. The multi-million dollar collection is owned by retired Hawaii business executive, Thurston Twigg-Smith, 88, former publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper.

"This is the most important private collection of noteworthy Pony Express material ever offered in a public auction," said Scott R. Trepel, President of Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. of New York in a press release. There are 32 Pony Express-postmarked envelopes in the auction, along with dozens of examples of single stamps and multiple blocks of Pony Express postage issued by Wells Fargo & Co. He estimates the collection will sell for $2.5 million or more.

Thurston Twigg-Smith was the publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser from 1961 to 1993 and began collecting stamps at the age of eight in 1929. His favorite item in the collection is one of only two known surviving Pony Express letters that originated from Hawaii. It is valued today at $500,000 or more, it's an envelope with a rare $4 denomination Wells Fargo Pony Express stamp and addresses written in pencil that carried documents from the U.S. Consulate in Oahu, Hawaii to the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, DC. in August 1861.

UPDATE: This auction brought in $4 million, far above the high estimate of $2.5 million.

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Tags: philatelist, philately, pony express, PonyExpress, stamps

Upside Down Is Right Side Up In The Stamp Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

When it comes to certain collectibles, the error is worth more than the perfect copy. Tomorrow an auction puts over 3,000 mistakes up for sale. A stamp collection gathered by a Pittsburgh stockbroker, the late Robert H. Cunliffe may bring in more than $4 million. Dallas-based Spink Shreves Galleries is auctioning off the collection on June 18 and 19 at the Spink Shreves New York City Auction Galleries. Charles Shreve, president of Spink Shreves Galleries says that it is the most comprehensive collection of inverted centers and printings ever created.

Inversion occur when there are several different colors printed on a stamp in different press runs. Most of the time these printing switches go off without a hitch but everyone in a while a sheet gets flipped upside-down between press runs and that's when the magic happens. These rare inversions become instant collector's items.

Cunliffe's collection includes an "inverted Jenny," perhaps the most famous of the inversions. The U.S. stamp from 1918 features an upside-down biplane. We've seen some inverted Jenny stamps sell for nearly a million dollars but this one is expected to bring of at least $125,000 to $150,000. Shown above is a strip of four U.S. stamps from 1901 featuring an upside-down electric automobile which may sell for over $300,000.

[Thanks, Lana]

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Tags: inverted jenny, InvertedJenny, philatelist, philately, stamps

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

Postage Stamp Watches Inspired by Love and Holidays

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Postage stamps have featured some of the best art and most beautiful designs over the years, and now your favorites can be yours to enjoy for longer than just the time it takes to send a letter. P.S. Collection by Arjang & Co. is now offering two new timepiece collections that are inspired by some of the most popular U.S. postage stamp designs: the Love series and the holiday series.

The watches range in price from $95-$135 and feature Japanese movement, soft sheepskin and nubuck straps, a space on the back for engraving, and every one is stamped with the official insignia of the United States Postal Service.

Browse the gallery below and tell us which one is your favorite!

Gallery: P.S. I Love You Postage Stamp Watches

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Tags: love, love stamp, LoveStamp, postage, postage stamps, PostageStamps, ps I love you, PsILoveYou, stamp, stamps, timepiece, timepieces

Big Givers: The Philanthropic Philatelist Strikes Again

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Big Givers

The philanthropic philatelist is at it again. Wall Street money manager, Bill Gross is selling off another portion of his extensive stamp collection in a public auction estimated to bring over $1.25 million. All proceeds from the sale of his British Empire stamps will be donated by Sue and Bill Gross to the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Spink Shreves Galleries is holding the sale in New York City on October 3, 2008 and pre-auction displays of the historic stamps are planned in London and New York.

This is the third time Gross has offered portions of his collection to raise millions of dollars for charity, and the second time the Millennium Villages Project has been selected as the recipient of the proceeds. This part of the collection has 138 items; rare and one-of-a-kind stamps and covers (envelopes with canceled stamps) from across the globe of the 19th and early 20th century British Empire. There are rarities from such places as Australia, the British West Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, Cyprus, Gibraltar, India, Malta, and Mauritius. Shown above is a trial printing "square pair" of 1863 Cape of Good Hope triangular-shaped, carmine red, mint condition, one-penny denomination stamps with a pre-sale estimate of $80,000 or more. The auction has its own website with more details here.

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Tags: auction, bill gross, millenium villages, 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

1855 unique Denmark 2-skilling margin pair

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Tags: auction, bill gross, BillGross, philatelist, stamp collecting, StampCollecting, stamps

"Inverted Jenny" Is One Hot Stamp

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

The rare "Inverted Jenny" stamp, one of the most coveted stamps among philatelists, sold for $825,000 through Heritage Auction Galleries. The 24-cent denomination, a U.S. red, white and blue misprint which shows upside-down Curtis 4-N ("Jenny") biplane, was position number 84 on the original sheet of 100. Heritage recently bought the stamp for $750,000 and sold it to a senior Wall Street executive who is a long-time coin collector. Greg Rohan of Heritage had been the under bidder on the same executive's behalf at an auction last month where another "Inverted Jenny" sold for $977,500. Just goes to prove that sometimes losing out in an auction can be a good thing.

[via CNN]

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Tags: collecting, inverted jenny, philatelist, stamps