This impressive collection of Large Queens had everything. It included essays, die proofs, imprint blocks, strips, a great number of paper, colour and perforation varieties, together with Bothwell, Stitch and Pirie watermarks.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature was the large number of beautiful Large Queen blocks, greater than we can ever recall seeing.

There is no way we can do justice to the amount of knowledge Menich must have had to identify and collect the various colours, papers and perforations that separate one variety from another. But fortunately for collectors, many of the rules he learned over time were summarized in the auction catalogue, to be shared with collectors at large.

What follows is a very brief overview of this extraordinary collection.

(Prices realized have been converted at the rate of $1US = $1.35 Cdn.)

21b Black

Lot 841 Watermarked paper, Showpiece Realized $5,738

21 Black, Full counter & imprint

Lot 829 LH & NH, including the “Spur flaw” Realized $4,050

22a Red Brown, Bothwell watermark

Lot 872 Showpiece, trivial crease Realized $1,755

22 Brown Red Strong Vertical Stitch Watermark

Lot 860 Very rare, Showpiece, Ex Lussey, Richardson Realized $1,013

22 Red Brown

Lot 861 Showpiece, Full OG Realized $4,050

23 Orange, The Absolute GEM of the Menich Collection

Lot 883 XF, full OG, Largest recorded multiple, Ex Lee-Jones, Smart, Jarrett, Firth, Leggett & Lindsey Realized $40,500

24iv Blue Green

Lot 950 Stunning Showpiece, full OG, on Bothwell paper Realized $3,038

25 Red

Lot 989 World class rarity & showpiece, Full OG, Ex- Dale – Lichtenstein Realized $16,200

26ii Olive Green

Lot 1036 XF, Rare 12 x 12 perf. Realized $1,890

26 Olive Green

Lot 1034 VF+, Full streaky brownish OG, bottom 2 stamps NH, Ex-Dale Lichtenstein Realized $11,475

27iv Yellow Brown

Lot 1048 Partial double print on piece, the most dramatic of the 4 existing Realized $24,300

27 Brown

Lot 1056 Block of 6, Full OG, an impressive showpiece Realized $13,500

28 Pale Dull Blue

Lot 1103 OG, Ex- Jarrett & Firth Realized $5,063

28 Pale Dull Blue

Lot 1102 Full OG NH Realized $11,475

28i Pale Blue

Lot 1141 XF, showpiece, 3rd largest unused multiple of this stamp, some thinning Realized $6,750

28 Dull Blue

Lot 1129 XF, strong “horizontal stitch watermark” (Unlisted until the 2009 Unitrade Catalogue) Realized $810

29d,ii Dark Brown Purple

Lot 1217 XF imperforate corner block, NH with Pawnbroker variety UR, psn. 10 Realized $8,775

29i Slate Purple

Lot 1209 Showpiece, NH OG, light crease in margin Realized $2,430

30d Dull Grey

Lot 1233 F-VF. showpiece, the rare script watermark Realized $2,565

30ii Deep Blue

Lot 1271 VF NH showpiece Realized $5,400

As we look back over this collection of extraordinary blocks and varieties, we can only shake our head in amazement at what Mr. Menich managed to collect. It was such an outstanding collection.

Once again, our sincere thanks to Mr. John Cooper for not only lending us this auction catalogue from his collection, but also for giving us the opportunity to see a collection of this caliber. We are glad to be able to share it with you.

Thanks also to Charles G. Firby Auctions, which responded promptly to our request for a copy of the prices realized for this auction.