Canadian Stamp Auctions

We recently talked to an individual well known in Canadian philatelic circles who attended the American Bank Note Archive’s sale of proofs and imperforates in NY City in 1990. He remembered the excitement as he poured through the scarce material to be sold. According to Unitrade, this is where many of the Numeral set imperforates originated, the ones we see so often in our auctions today. Here is one of these imperforates from the Eastern sale:

This is quite an attractive stamp. Like many of the Numeral imperforates, it has no gum. In the past two years, we have recorded the sale of 21 pairs. 5 of them with gum and 16 with none. The best price for a pair without gum was $700 and that was realized back in 2006. So it seems today that the supply exceeds the demand and this is keeping the lid on prices.

Despite all this, the $525 realized in the sale is the best price since the $700 recorded in 2006. Maybe things are turning for the better for this stamp.

10¢ Admiral

We all like surprises and for us this price certainly came as a surprise. Granted Scott 116 is the most valuable stamp in the Admiral set, and this copy was NH, but it wasn’t quite well centered. Either someone wasn’t being careful or the demand for the stamp is driving the market price unexpectedly high.

How high can the price go for a NH well centered copy? Well, it can go pretty high. In 2006, a copy sold for $2,576!

38¢ Parliament - double printing

There are two types of this 38¢ definitive stamp with double printing. One is on Slater paper and the other on Peterborough paper. The first has cream-coloured gum and the second, bluish gum. Both have the same catalogue value. The two types have been offered regularly at Eastern sales over the years, but the $270 top price set back in 2001, has never been bettered.

Imperforate corner pair - unusually strong price

This little beauty is one of the more common modern imperforates. Issued in 1998, it made its first appearance at auction two years later. Since then, we have recorded the sale of 29 blocks and pairs. The top price for a pair was $875, realized back in 2002 and, since then, the price has ranged well below that, from $573 down to $170. So it was a bit of a surprise to see the pair trade in this sale for $675, clearly a very solid price. Of course, the special feature which would add to its value was the fact that it came from the corner of the sheet, giving it those extra wide margins.

We note that, despite being offered regularly at auction, this variety still hasn’t been listed in the Scott catalogue.

1933 Postage Due

Here’s an excellent example of a 1933 postage due stamp. All these early postage due sets have done well in the catalogues in the past few years as have many of the other back of the book sets.

It’s sobering to look back at the rather scary economic conditions we have gone through during the past year and realize that, in 1933, they were in their 4th year of similar conditions with a lot more uncertainty and hardship in front of them.

Perforated official stamp

What a pretty stamp, with such attractive colors. Some might think it had little value. After all, holes have been pierced through its surface and a wavy cancellation has been stamped right over its image. The Scott’s value for the normal used copy of the stamp is only 20¢.

But to a collector of perforated official stamps, this stamp is a beauty. The winning bidder even put a premium on it, paying more than catalogue. As they say, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder!

An interesting plate block

Here is another stamp from the 1930’s. This is from the post-Admiral period, that seems to be attracting collectors more and more these days and the prices are reflecting this.

As Scott notes, the stamp was issued in 1933 to mark the Royal William’s transatlantic passage from Canada to Great Britain. It was the first ship to go all the way by steam.

For more details of this sale, please click on the highlights button.