A Traditional Philatelic Auction House — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sparks Auctions Our 21st public auction takes place today beginning at 10:00am EDT with Canada stamps. We will continue until the end of the British North America section, and then have a break for lunch.
British Commonwealth will commence at 2:00pm, with Worldwide stamps immediately after, approximately 2:45pm.
Follow the sale live on Stamp Auction Network.
An appropriate featured item as we celebrate Victoria Day here in Canada.
Lot 33 Canada #18iv 1859 12½c yellow green Queen Victoria with Major Re-Entry, mint with large part original gum. This major re-entry, most notable in the E of PENCE is from plate position 94 and the stamp has a sheet selvedge at bottom (scarce thus for this issue, but even more so with small part printer’s imprint at left) corroborating this. Very nice centering, with fresh colour and a scarce stamp in this very fine condition. Accompanied by a 2014 Greene Foundation certificate stating “gum somewhat disturbed”. This stamp is widely recognized as being the finest mint example of the major re-entry. Unitrade CV C$7,500.
Lot 48 Canada #26 1876 5c olive green Large Queen, mint with large part original gum, hinged. A lovely stamp, very nicely centered and very fine plus. Accompanied by a 2010 Greene Foundation certificate stating “paper is toned slightly”. Still a very presentable stamp and worthy of the finest collections. Unitrade CV C$5,000.
Lot 114 Canada #99 1908 5c blue Québec Tercentenary, mint never hinged, perfectly centered among four large margins, deep, fresh colour and extremely fresh. A perfect example where catalogue value is irrelevant as such quality is almost never seen. Accompanied by a 2016 Greene Foundation certificate. Unitrade CV C$450.
Lot 438 Great Britain Circa 1901 Unadopted Bradbury and Wilkinson Line Engraved Essay of King Edward VII, in brown, on ungummed and unwatermarked wove paper, denominated at 1d. This is also called the “Canadian Head,” as it is identical to Canada’s 1903-1908 King Edward VII definitive issue head design. A block of four of this essay (in blue) sold at a large auction house in England in 2006 for £600. We have not otherwise seen this in any of the important GB or Canadian King Edward VII exhibits or literature. Very fine and rare. Estimate $250.