16th August 2019
In the August Stamp Auction a collection of overprinted stamps from the British 1915 Occupation of Bushire achieved excellent prices, many selling at over twice the auction estimates. More information on the stamps is on our website here. The success of the sale demonstrates the importance of buying top quality stamps with appropriate expertisation. Amongst the lots an Ahmed Mirza range to 3kr sold for £1800 (estimate £600), a Coronation 9ch sold for £1,200 (estimate £400), a 1kr sold for £1,200 (estimate £500), a 5kr sold for £1,080 (estimate £900) & 1t sold for £1110 (estimate £450).
From same source, a collection of overprints from the British 1917 occupation of Baghdad sold at similar levels. A 1917 Lighthouse Garden ½a on 10pa sold for £990 (estimate £450) & an Old GPO 1a on 20pa sold for £1680 (estimate £400).
Great Britain
In the Great Britain section an 1840 1d black plate 1b achieved £840, an 1867-83 £5 orange sold for £1,170. A fine looking example of the rare & sought after 1935 Silver Jubilee 2½d in Prussian Blue reached £3,480.
Foreign
In the foreign section an excellent range of USA stamps & Postal History attracted a lot of interest, including early covers with Presidents Heads, an 1845 5c on entire sold for £276.
A meticulously presented specialised collection of early issues in 4 volumes achieved £2,520, well beyond the estimate of £1,500.
The lots also included more unusual Back of the Book issues, including a Newspaper 1875 $6 which went for £360, a $9 for £300 and an 1871 Revenue 50c with inverted centre sold for £240.
Also in the foreign section, a China 1922-33 2nd Peking 4c in a block of 15 sold for £216. The stamps themselves have little value, what makes this multiple more interesting is that it is cancelled ‘U.S.T.P. SEAPOST/EAST/FEB/11/1927/S.S. PRES MCKINLEY’ showing it was carried on board the President McKinley, a ship operated by the Admiral Oriental Line shipping company, to carry passengers and mail to & from Asia across the Pacific. The Pres McKinley was later used as a troop ship in the 2nd World War & eventually broken up in 1949.
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The full catalogue for this sale will be on our website in the next few weeks or keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages which will include updates of our latest auction news.