Prince Albert Consort

Lot 8, Canada #2 1851 6d slate violet on laid paper, Mint

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We begin our listing of featured stamps with a true, world-class rarity. While the Twelve-penny Black remains the Canadian classic that comes to mind as the rare stamp that every serious collector of Canada wishes to one day own, the 6 penny slate violet is in fact far more difficult to come by. We have it in this auction as Lot #8.

CANADA #2 1851 6d slate violet Consort on laid paper, three full to very large margins, cut along or just into design at top, fine condition. This is a rare mint stamp, particularly with original gum, and is many times scarcer than the 12 penny black. Accompanied by 2008 Greene Foundation certificate "unused with small part OG, genuine with tiny pinhole at left centre". A world class rarity. (Scott U$32,500, SG £28,000). Unitrade CV $50,000

Sparks Auction #6, May 17-19, 2010

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Sparks Auctions is pleased to announce our sixth public auction, to be held at our Ottawa premises on May 17th, 18th & 19th, 2010.

This sale has over 1,600 lots with truly something of interest for every stamp collector. We were pleasantly surprised by the coverage of material entrusted to us by over forty consignors. We are quite confident that you will be too.

The Canada and British North America section is highlighted by three world class rarities, the mint or unused 6d Consort on laid paper (Lot 8), a 3¢ Large Queen on laid paper (Lot 85) and a Newfoundland 1sh orange (Lot 753). These stamps very rarely make an appearance on the auction block, being many times scarcer than the 12 penny black, and we are privileged to offer them in this sale. Are you going to be the lucky collector who gets to cross off "Number 2" from your wantlist?

Not to be outdone are the hundreds of more affordable lots including a high number of premium quality singles and blocks. Several attractive lots of proofs and essays are offered in this sale, including the lovely set of Jubilee proof blocks of ten, several die proofs from the 1920s and a fascinating selection of modern proofs and essays from the Estate of Jean-Pierre Beaudin (Lots 485 to 503). The modern errors come from multiple consignments with almost no overlap and include many items which we have never previously offered.

The British Commonwealth section starts with a glorious example of the 1sh green embossed from Great Britain (Lot 900), and continues with nice quality sets and singles. As for rarities, we can point to the Nandgaon 2a rose (Lot 997) – a very rare stamp indeed despite the modest catalogue value, and the Malayan States overprint, which is headlined by the Sungei Ujong 2 brown with inverted "S" (Lot 1014). This last stamp, along with several others in the sale were found by our staff unidentified within the material consigned to us – it certainly pays to consign early! The foreign section has a nice group of United States, lovely mint Germany in high quality, almost all never hinged, but the highlight remains the trio of rarities from Iceland in premium quality. Postal history is not to be outdone, with a lovely selection of semi-official airmail flight covers, and a rare cover salvaged from the wreck of the St. Olaf (Lot 1315).

The lots and collections once again fill our shelves. Of particular note are the worldwide classic collection with a catalogue value in excess of $100,000 (lot 1727) and other items from the same consignment, such as the classic revenue stamps collection (Lot 1760). We urge viewers to spend some time on the larger lots and collections as some of the last minute consignments will certainly contain nice surprises.

Catalogues are currently at the printers and will be mailed the week of April 26th. The PDF version of the catalogue is now available for viewing or download from the link in the gray box on the right side of this page. You can also find information about bidding, on-site viewing, and a gallery of additional images. Internet bidding is available through stampauctionnetwork.com.

Please let us know if you would like to have a catalogue delivered to you, or if you have any questions about the sale.

Good Luck in the auction!

-Sparks Auctions

Lot 25, Canada #16P, Realized $517

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Plate proofs like this and Lot 21 (featured last Wednesday) continued to be popular. This lot attracted seven advance bidders and another on the telephone, eventually selling to the floor for $450.

Canada #16P 1859 10¢ black brown Consort plate proof on India paper, from bottom of sheet, extremely fine. Unitrade C$500, realized $517 including premium.

Lot 27, Canada #5 6 Pence Slate Gray on wove with original gum

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Canada #5, 1855 6d slate gray Prince Consort on wove paper with original gum,
to quote the 2008 Sergio Sismondo certificate:

"The stamp submitted is genuine, unused, with original gum. It has large margins on three sides, unusually large at top and right, showing a tiny sliver of the adjacent stamp at right, but is cut into frameline on the left half of the lower margin. The stamp has impeccable freshness, and is free from hidden faults or repairs at the time of examination. Mint six pence stamps of 1852-1857 with fresh and original gum are very rare."

This stamp was Lot 24 in the 1965 Robson Lowe sale of the General Gill collection. The Gill collection was the finest and most complete for mint Canada Pence ever offered. Full original gum, lightly hinged. CV as fine $30,000 (as VF $70,000), Scott US$25,000, SG £21,000.

Canada #2 Used

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1851 6d slate violet Consort on laid paper, left sheet margin example with circular dated postmark of Coburg. (cds cancels are very rare on the laid papers). Deep colour, a very attractive stamp destined for a great collection. Accompanied by AIEP Certificate stating “genuine in all respects and is in very fine condition” and, for the record, the Certificate does not mention 2 trivial faults in the margins, very fine. CV:$4000