Canadian Stamp Auctions

12 March, 2009 - Vance Auctions Ltd.

RARE LONDON TO LONDON POSTCARD

Lot 5387 Estimate $2,000 Realized $5,200

In 1927, the airplane depicted in the above unused postcard took off from London Ontario, heading for London England. After briefly landing in Newfoundland, it took off again only to disappear into the ocean. This is one of the eight known mint copies. It is special in that it has been signed by both the pilot and the navigator, both of whom perished in the attempt to cross the Atlantic.

The story of this flight was described by Bret Evans, editor of the Canadian Stamp News, in the April 14, 2009 edition of the paper:

“The flight took place in the early days of long-distance aviation. Charles Lindbergh had just finished his famous New York to Paris solo flight, and the world was hungry for aviation feats. At the time, it was common for business to offer up large prizes as incentives for long distance flights.

Carling Breweries, of London, Ontario entered the field with the offer of $25,000, the same amount paid to Charles Lindbergh, to the first Canadian or British pilot to fly from London Ontario to London, England. A group decided to take on the challenge and set about selecting an aircraft and crew. The aircraft selected was a six passenger Stinson SM-1 Detroiter.

For a crew, they selected Captain Terence Tully, a First World War flyer, with James Medcalf as navigator. Organizers also decided to allow a refueling stop in Newfoundland. It was also agreed to allow the flight to carry some mail. Most of the stamps appear to have been used for mail on the flight. Today there are no more than eight mint copies left.

After reviewing weather reports from the government sources and even shipping companies, Tully and Medcalf took off on September 7. They were never seen again. Even though the flight was never completed, the Ottawa Citizen reports that the prize money was paid out to their widows.”

1¢ Jubilee

For lovers of the Jubilee set, and there are many, the chance to buy very fine copies inexpensively doesn’t come that often. But this was definitely one of those opportunities. The above 1¢ yellow was nicely centered and never hinged and sold for less than its catalogue value. Somewhere out there the buyer must be smiling!

3¢ Jubilees

Lot 5712 Scott 53 NH Catalogue $45 Realized $74

Lot 5713 Scott 53 (50 copies) Catalogue $150 Realized $134

Well, this is more like it, a good buy, even at 164% of catalogue value. Keep in mind that a year ago a 3¢ Jubilee sold for $470. The second lot of 50 fully dated copies strikes us as an awfully good buy, way up there.

So when we look at these 1¢ and 3¢ lots, and the quality they represent, we know that a year or two from now, or when everything recovers, the buyers of these stamps will be congratulated, not only by us, but by their fellow collectors. They took a chance and they succeeded. We envy them.

7¢ Quebec Tercentenary

We have come to recognize that there are two markets out there, that is the “hinged” versus the “no hinged” market. The wealthy, advanced and sophisticated group of collectors wouldn’t even consider bidding on anything that is hinged, at least for the most part. That leaves the rest of the collectors who don’t have the means or the opportunity to participate. They have to make their own market. The face of the stamps they bid on can be just as beautiful and the centering and perforations just as perfect as on a NH stamp. Don’t get us going!

The above lovely copy of the 7¢ Quebec Tercentenary was XF LH and it sold for well over its catalogue value. Bravo, we like to see the real quality in a stamp recognized.

Beautiful Admiral Coils

Lot 5965 Scott 123 Catalogue $250 Realized $380

Lot 5969 Scott 124 Catalogue $250 Realized $348

These two are by far the most valuable of the Admiral coils. Both were NH and well centered. Seeing not one but two Admiral coils in the sale in this quality nicely surprised us. They may not be perfect but they came very close. Maybe they are not “100s” but they look like at least “96s”. We truly admire them knowing how seldom they appear at auction in this quality. It does Vance great credit to be able to offer stamps like these to the market

Mini collections

There is a section called “The Caboose” in every Vance sale. It is found at the end of the Canadian section and includes all kinds of interesting odds and ends. We found some nicely dated 3¢ jubilees which sold for more than their estimate. There were many other mini collections offered. Here are details of a few of them:

US PLATE IMPRINT PROOF BLOCK

What a beautiful proof block this is. Printed on India paper, one stamp has a tiny pinhole; otherwise the block is a choice showpiece. It has often been suggested that the reason Canada issued a $5 Jubilee, when it created the Jubilee set in 1897, was because of the existence of $5 stamps in the U.S. like the above.

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

This auction had one new record price:

Vance’s next sale will take place on May 6, 2009.