January 27, 2015 · 9:56 pm

December 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month
27.00 mmNow that it’s the end of January, I’ve finally had the time to catch up with what I should have done at Christmas time. So without further ado, we kick off this month with “the one that always gets away”; the British Bechuanaland overprint on the 1/2d vermilion with control letter. This was bought for nothing. Only £27 for this unmounted mint example. Not only did I miss it on eBay, but it was bought by the dealers Deverell & MacGregor and was sold before I even knew it! Aaagh! One day…

17.80Next up is this rather scruffy looking cover is only the second cover I have found with a Jubilee franking going to Trinidad (there’s also a parcel tag going to Trinidad worth a mention). £17.80 was all that this one fetched because of its condition.

295.95Although this next cover just about qualifies for this blog because only one of the five stamps are a Jubilee, I couldn’t let this beautiful cover pass by without mentioning it. For a little extra interest, there is even the manuscript “Posted out of course”, which means it would have been dropped in a letter box instead of being taking to the post office to be recorded. It sold for £295.95.

16.24There’s nothing particularly special about this cover, but I just thought it was worth a mention because it’s something I should have added to my collection because it’s a nice example of the 4oz letter rate and the registration fee paid by two 2d green and red which is not a common rate at all. It sold for £16.24.

9.34This 2 1/2d has a rather fine strike of the Aden squared circle ds. This stamp would have been attached to a cover posted on board a ship and cancelled when it was sorted in Aden. It sold for £9.34.

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January 14, 2015 · 8:52 am

Spink Offer Fabulous Collections of British Africa

British East Africa Cancelled overprints on JubileesOn the 26th and 28th of January 2015, Spink will be offering the East Africa collection of Lord Vestey and part 1 of the British Africa collection of James F. Hudson. Both have some fabulous material, and thankfully even some Jubilee items to talk about.

The only items of interest from the Vestey collection for me are on the first page of the catalogue, with the most interesting lot having come from the “Shivani” collection of British East Africa sold by Spink in 1997. Lot 1 is the 1d lilac, 2d green & red and 5d deep purple & blue with the B.E.A. overprints all with “CANCELLED” handstamps. In fact the lot also includes a Zululand 1d lilac and 2d green & red with the same. Stamps with this “CANCELLED” overprint were used as colour specimens by De La Rue and the Inland Revenue. Bought for £2’185 in 1997, the estimate is £3’000 to £4’000.

Zululand 5d with inverted watermarkFrom the Hudson collection, there is a decent section of Niger Coast (without anything spectacular in way of Jubilees). But the most interesting lot for me is a Zululand 5d deep purple & blue, used, with inverted watermark. Catalogued at £1’800 by Stanley Gibbons, the estimate is £600-700. I would have thought it would do better than that because it’s not a stamp I remember ever seeing before.

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December 10, 2014 · 1:14 pm

Variety of Jubilees Sold at David Feldman

Insured cover with Jubilee frankingDavid Feldman’s December auction series included the Richard Pearmund collection of British Offices Abroad, which featured Jubilees used in Aden, Ascension, British Levant,  Jamaica, Niger Coast and South Africa. Not to mention two 1s green & carmine frankings (one was a new addition to the census and the other now has an image) in the GB section along with this beautiful Insured franking to the Netherlands (with sold for €228 incl. commission).

Oil Rivers Protectorate Benin cancel on 2.5d JubileeNiger Coast was a particularly strong section and included this possibly unique cancellation of Benin on a 2 1/2d on piece which sold for €840 incl. commission. Also of note was a 2 1/2d on cover with a black Old Calabar oval ds in the same style.

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December 10, 2014 · 12:30 pm

November 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month
November was an interesting month for Jubilees on eBay. Unfortunately I missed all of it due to work commitments. So I cheated and spent an hour or so searching through the “Sold” listings.

115.48First off we have a rare multiple of the Mafeking surcharge on the 1/2d vermilion. Not expensive at all at £115.48.

Secondly we had these two Zululand 1/2d pairs on pieces with near enough complete cancellations of Nondweni and Nkandhla. Very scarce. Sold for £45.01 and £53.51 respectively.45.01 + 53.51

398.90Which is nothing compared to this Bechuanaland Protectorate 1/2d. Catalogued by SG at £50, the clean strike of the Tati cds is the reason this sold for £398.90. Astonishing.

66.00I tried by best to do a 1/2d vermilion “clean sweep”, alas this 6d pair was too interesting to pass up. Cancelled by two strikes of the Ben Nevis cds, intense bidding saw this sell for £66.00

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December 9, 2014 · 9:03 pm

October 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

$157.00 and $128.27Sorry for the delay ladies and gents. Let’s pretend it’s still October… We begin with a couple of surprises for you (and me) this month.

These two scruffy looking covers sold for $157 and $128 respectively. Both are printed covers from the Salvation Army, with frankings with matching “S” perfins. Not only that, but they include their original contents, the first even with a publication. This is the first time I have seen such a premium for a Christian themed item.

82.28

This is one I wish I hadn’t missed. A 2 1/2d used in Niger Coast. They are pretty common with the Niger Company Territories violet box ds of Burutu, but this is very scarce with a thimble Bonny River cds. Catalogued by SG at £450, it sold for £82.28.

$84.48

This beautiful franking is not only a beautiful franking, but it’s being sent to Indonesia! Although I’m discovering that this isn’t such a rare and exotic a destination as it sounds. It’s paying 9 times the UPU rate, so it’s possibly even a proper usage. I should have gone for this. It sold for only $84.48.

7.60

And finally a cover not described correctly by the vendor. Not that a quick look won’t reveal why it’s worth more than the £7.60 it fetched. As the imprint suggests, it was sent from the Postal Department in Natal, South Africa. Originally unfranked, a 2 1/2d Jubilee was added and cancelled in London for it’s onward journey to the USA.

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November 18, 2014 · 12:46 pm

Missing Colour Error Not What It Seems

1887 9d Jubilee chemically removed colourThe item pictured came up on eBay recently and I felt that it deserved it’s own post. With a “Buy it now” price of £5’000, an unknowing collector could be fooled into thinking that this is a rarity, with this 9d missing all of its blue colour.

Unfortunately the stamp wasn’t originally printed this way and has in fact had its blue colour chemically removed . One reason why I can say this confidently without seeing the stamp in the flesh is that the cancellation is still visible albeit severely faded. Closer examination would also probably reveal a faint outline where the blue ink used to be (indeed the frame surrounding the centre it is actually slightly noticeable in the picture).

The stamp is no longer available so hopefully the vendor has realised the error and withdrawn it from the site.

This is not the first “missing colour” in the 1887 Jubilee series I have seen. There is also a few examples I have spotted of the 5d with missing blue and a single example of the 1 1/2d with missing purple and a 10d with missing purple. The stamps were printed with “fugitive” inks so this was designed to happen if someone attempted to remove the cancellation and re-use the stamp.

Remember, if in doubt, check the Stanley Gibbons specialised catalogue of Queen Victoria. If a major variety is not listed, then there’s a 99.9% chance it doesn’t exist. And always buy valuable items with an RPS or BPA certificate.

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October 24, 2014 · 3:02 pm

September 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month
70.00September was a good month for the Jubilees (please ignore the fact that it’s nearly November…). I was actually a little spoiled for choice! First we have a cover sent from the USA with 1883 Washington 2c pair and 1887 Franklin 1c, redirected on arrival in England with two 1887 1/2d vermilion paying the single letter rate. Not a common franking as US/Jubilee combinations are more often seen with later US issues. It sold for £70.

21.01This little scarce book on the control letters on the 1881 1d lilac, 1887 1/2d vermilion and 1900 1/2d blue-green sold for £21.00. Although it won’t have any information that can’t be found in the essential Queen Victoria specialised catalogue by Stanley Gibbons, it’s still a nice addition to a Jubilee collector’s philatelic library.

43.00Another redirected cover with mixed country franking from the same seller. This time from India. As coincidence would have it, I bought a very similar cover the same day this one finished for £25 (a bit tatty on top unfortunately but still attractive) which bore a 1a brown instead of the 1a plum which this cover features. I had already set my heart on making this a pair with mine to make an attractive page. Alas, I underbid the cover to £43.

103.00mmThis Zululand set with Specimen overprints sold for a very reasonable £103 in mounted mint condition. I already have this set and I paid more than that…

31.98 (me)And finally we come to the only item I actually added to my collection this month. This registered envelope was sent at 12 times the UPU rate with five 6d purple on rose, plus 2d registration (as noted at the lower left) paid by the envelope. The peripheral wear and the US customs hs also indicating that something heavy was posted inside. I was very happy to add this multiple franking for £31.98.

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August 30, 2014 · 8:49 pm

August 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

A busy month of exciting Jubilee items means this post comes just 5 days after my late, late post of last month.

1900 1s green and carmine on coverFirst off is the item I was most excited about. Number 48 in my census of 1s Green & Carmine covers. This is the only one I have recorded with a “LATE FEE 1/-” handstamp (which is fantastic because there is no need for guess work to work out what the franking is paying!). A good addition to my collection at £407.99 even if I was the only bidder.

92.90Next up is a cover sent by the Continental Night Mail. This is the second example I have seen come up on eBay in recent times. Sent from Crédit Lyonaise Bank, the 5d pair and 1 1/2d have the bank’s perfin and are tied by the “CONTINENTAL NIGHT MAIL” duplex with “CS / 2″ (denoting that it was posted at Cannon St. Post Office). It sold for £92.90.

57.00This is the second item this month with a “LATE FEE 1/-” handstamp (although for those that care, it has different dimensions to the one on the 1s cover above). Even though this is just a front, it’s an unusual franking with the 1s green and 4 1/2d green and red. It sold for a solid £57.

70.66I had been looking for a 1/2d vermilion franking with a Railway stamp for ages. And I finally got one last month for a very good price. So I wanted to see it sell more than the £50 I had paid for mine, but I didn’t have to help it as it reached £70.66.

125.00From the same vendor as the first three items, this was one I would loved to have had. Sent from Transvaal to England, the cover was then redirected by the Continental Night Mail with a 1 1/2d, 4d, KEVII 1/2d and 1d. If I hadn’t had my eye on the 1s cover I would have probably pushed it a bit further than the £125 realisation

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August 25, 2014 · 10:10 pm

July 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

266.64aLate again… :( After having to cheat last month due to a slow June, July has not disappointed. I start with this unassuming postcard sent from Austria to the UK, and then redirected to Ireland with my favourite stamp! Great! Another mixed country franking to add to my collection! Unfortunately the final price of $450 (£266.64 to me) blew me out of the water. I had thought this might have been a case of two people putting in big bids but not expecting anyone else to care. However, there seemed to be 18 careful bids up to this figure. A closer look revealed it was a printed advertising card from Sigmund Friedl. A quick google search and old faithful Wikipedia showed me the light. It turns out the Sigmund Friedl is one of the most famous philatelists, having sold the Sweden Tre Skilling Banco for a sum of 4000 gulden to the famous collector, Philipp von Ferrary before turning to defrauding collectors in later life. So a very interesting item for the philately historian.

55.74This interesting piece caught my eye, but I wasn’t that excited to pay £55.74 for this 2 1/2d “in combination” with a Spanish 25c, cancelled in Seville. My opinion is that the 25c covered the cost of postage, and the 2 1/2d was fortuitously cancelled at the same time.

57.00Controls seem to be more popular than ever, with even common corner pairs selling for £20 plus. So I wasn’t surprised that this duo sold for £57 even though they both had faults!

44.40This attractive piece has six 1/2d vermilions cancelled by the rubber datestamps of the Army Post Office at Modder Spruit. My second use of Wikipedia in a month reveals that “Modderspruit is a town in Bojanala District Municipality in the North West province of South Africa.” Short and sweet… I’m still learning about Boer War philately, but my gut says it must be scarce, and I’ve never seen this town cancel before. If only it were a complete cover! £44.40 is a good price for a piece though.

39.00And last but not least…I couldn’t let a month go by without a bit of destination mail! New Zealand isn’t the rarest of destinations of course, but as this letter was sent underpaid, the New Zealand post office struck it with a nice “TO PAY / 5d / DOUBLE DEFFICIENT POSTAGE” tax handstamp. Even though it’s a little aged, it sold for £39.

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July 9, 2014 · 8:31 pm

June 2014 Ebay Report

Top 5 Items of the Month

51.83

I’ll admit that I’ve cheated a little bit this month. Two of the 5 items actually sold in July…so I’m going to have to look extra hard for my July report.

And I’ll commence with this very attractive advertising postcard for the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery. The illustration continues on the reverse, and for added interest, the 1/2d vermilion also has the company perfin. Not surprisingly this sold for £51.83.

32.75This vertical pair of the 2d green and carmine cover is one that I wanted to add to my collection but missed out on. As you can see at the lower left, 5d of the franking (don’t forget about the 2d registration die on the reverse) has gone to an increased registration fee for extra compensation. Final price was a reasonable £32.75.

40.88This used pair of the 1/2d vermilion with Army Telegraphs overprints is very scarce in used condition because all the telegraphs were supposed to be destroyed! It sold for £40.88.

70.00Another advertising cover with a 1/2d vermilion sold for £70. This one is for Lee’s Art Studios at Portrush in Northern Ireland. The added interest is that the image depicts Dunluce Castle..

113.86And the final items is this rare single usage of the 1s green and carmine on a parcel label, this being the second I have seen. It sold for £113.86.

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