Announcing Sale 49, February 29-March 2, 2024

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Welcome to our General Sale #49, our first auction of 2024. This will be my last sale with Sparks Auctions, as I am moving on to other projects. I wish to thank all those who have consigned to us, and bought from us during my 16 years with the company. I am very proud of what I have accomplished while here, and it is in big part because of our customers, philatelic friends, and our small team of dedicated and passionate staff.

Lot 367 Tristan da Cunha #B1-B4 1961 Set of Four Tristan Relief Fund Surcharges, all four values are mint never hinged and have sheet margins at right or left. A fresh and remarkably well centered set, very fine. This is the first we have offered, and these do not come up very often, with only 454 sets produced. Each stamp has an expert signature on back in light pencil. S.G. #172-175, £8,000. Scott CV U$7,600.

This sale offers our usual wide range of material, with quality Canada and provinces, British Commonwealth and worldwide singles, sets and collections, including part two of the W.J. McGill collection of Scandinavia, a good offering of early Great Britain, and much more. Also of note is the first part of the Andrew Ellwood precancel collection and a great offering of the Canadian Admiral issue.

Be sure to have a close look at our over 400 exciting lots of postal history offerings, including part three (and last) of the extensive David Hobden and Michael Rixon pre-Confederation Upper Canada postal history collection and part three of the Gordon Richardson early Manitoba postal history collection, as well as a fine selection of useful postal history from Canada and worldwide countries including those in Scandinavia. Also of note in this sale is another great offering of philatelic literature.

We are proud to continue our long-standing tradition of showing online photos or scans of every single lot, so you know what you are buying, especially if you are not able to do pre-sale viewing in person. This sale is accompanied by thousands of high-quality pictures, far more than we can show in the print catalogue, which can all be seen in full colour on StampAuctionNetwork.com.

As usual, this sale will be conducted live on StampAuctionNetwork.com, also with a live floor, via telephone and other traditional bidding methods. A reminder that our buyer’s fee is still at an industry-low 17%, and that all transactions are in Canadian dollars – a bonus for US customers and those using other currencies.

Enjoy the sale!

Stéphane Cloutier, FRPSC, FPHSC
Auction Manager

Floor Sale #6 Coming February 3rd

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Our 6th public Floor Sale will be held on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at our office at 1770 Woodward Drive in Ottawa. This in-person sale has 102 lots of stamps, covers, collections, face value postage, philatelic literature and collecting supplies in 153 cartons. In-person viewing starts at 8:00 a.m. EST and runs until the start of bidding at 2:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary on sale day. Viewing these treasure troves is essential, as we know there will be many “finds” in this sale. The complete listing can be seen here, and you can also view and print the lot list.

Sparks Auctions’ Floor Sales always generate a “buzz” within the Ottawa Philatelic Society membership. They provide our members and fellow collectors the opportunity to acquire new material and hidden treasures at reasonable prices. – Tim Aston (President, Ottawa Philatelic Society)

Our first five public Floor Sales brought many eager viewers and bidders looking for interesting material for their collections or to increase their sales inventory. Feedback from bidders and buyers has helped us refine the lotting of this bulkier material, always with an eye to increasing value for buyers and consignors alike. Everyone is happy that there are no shipping costs, since everything gets taken home that day!

Sale day is always great fun for participants:

  • 8:00 a.m. Our office opens for bidder registration, lot viewing, and paddle assignment. We will have coffee, tea and treats available and we’ll bring in pizza at lunch time.
  • 1:50 p.m. Viewing ends and the auction room is prepared for the sale. Seating is available, and we welcome standing room participants also.
  • 2:00 p.m. The live, in-person sale begins. Bidding opens at $10 and bidding continues in $10 increments. Bidders must be present – no bids will be taken in advance, and there will be no online or telephone bidding. Lots will be sold to the highest bidder on the floor.
  • Immediately post-sale: winners pay for, and remove their lots.

The team here at Sparks Auctions looks forward to welcoming you on February 3!

Sell Through Sparks Auctions

Consignments arrive here almost daily – by mail or courier, by hand in a small envelope or in a large truck! Please contact us early if you have treasures to sell, so we can include them in the next available sale. We are still accepting limited consignments for future sales. Let us know in advance if you would like to bring in a consignment on February 3.

The auction room full of happy participants at a recent Floor Sale.

Sparks Auctions News & Events

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Sparks Auctions General Public Sale #49 (Feb 29-March 2) will be launched on Stamp Auction Network at the end of this month, offering our usual wide variety of Canada, BNA and worldwide stamps, postal history, lots & collections, supplies, historical documents, literature and ephemera along with several specialty collections. Floor Sale #6 is also coming together nicely for early February.

After many years of dedicated service, Auction Manager Stéphane Cloutier will be leaving the company in March. Auction Lotter Steve Johnson, who joined us in March 2022, is also moving on later this month. Both are departing on amicable terms. We are grateful for their valuable contributions to Sparks Auctions.

Sparks is recruiting new personnel to join our core staff and the specialists, consultants and contractors who play important, though less visible, roles in providing our consignors, bidders and buyers with the quality and care they have come to expect during the company’s 16-year history.

We continue to accept consignments for Sale #50 and beyond and we are proud to be a partner sponsor of ORAPEX, Ottawa’s National Philatelic Exhibition, May 4-5, 2024. Planning for General Public Sale #50, scheduled for June, is well underway.

Since 2007, Sparks Auctions has served thousands of consignors, bidders and buyers and played a significant role in supporting the philatelic community in Canada and beyond. We appreciate the trust that our customers have placed in us, and we will continue to work hard to earn it.

For more information, please direct inquiries to:
General Manager – Peter MacDonald
pmacdonald@sparks-auctions.com

Lot 323, Large stock of Iceland-Canada “Gimli” Christmas 1918 imperforate sheets, sold for C$877

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Lot 323, Large stock of Iceland-Canada "Gimli" Christmas 1918 imperforate sheets, sold for C$877Lot 323, Large stock of Iceland-Canada "Gimli" Christmas 1918 imperforate sheets, sold for C$877Lot 323 Large stock of Iceland-Canada “Gimli” Christmas imperforate stamp sheets, produced in 1918 by an immigrated Icelandic poet, painter, essayist, etc. Thorstein Th. Thorsteinsson, who lived in Gimli, Manitoba (where the consignor’s parents also lived). Each sheet contains 18 stamps with Canadian (English) Christmas messages and another 18 stamps with Icelandic Christmas messages, for a total of 36 stamps. This lot contains fully gummed, imperforate sheets in the following colours and approximate quantities: blue (x14), green (x65), lilac brown (x104) and red (x roughly 450). Also includes one gummed and perforated sheet in green. Some sheets are partially stuck together and some have edge creases or folds, still the vast majority are fine to very fine. Listed in Lafrenière as No. cc4100, identified as “very uncommon” and valued at $80. per sheet. Accompanied by an article (in Icelandic, with translation) on the subject, originally published in “Grusk.” Estimate C$200, sold for C$750.00 plus 17% buyer’s premium.