Stamp collectors are searching the 700-plus-lot catalogue of a major online stamp auction of British, Commonwealth and Chinese stamps.
Many of the items in the Crown & Dragon Auction at JC Auctions are for sale for a fraction of their catalogue values.
The sale has opened for pre-sale bidding and is due to close next Thursday, October 9.
Mike Hall, CEO of JC Auctions’ partner, Paul Fraser Collectibles said: “I’ve examined all the lots up close, and believe me, there are some absolute gems in there.”
Among the sale highlights are:
A 1935 2½d Prussian Blue – one of fewer than 500 printed in a shade that King George V (a stamp expert himself) had rejected for his own jubilee issue.
Mr Hall describes it as “Britain’s most famous colour error.”
In a story eerily similar to that of legendary Inverted Jenny, a collector discovered sheets of the error stamp in a north London post office and snapped them all up.
They are now highly sought-after rarities. This catalogue-quality example has already attracted bids, but is listed well below its £12,000 catalogue value.
This beautiful miniatures sheet captures the best of Chinese stamp design, and one of the nation’s favourite sports. Image courtesy of JCAuctions.
China collectors will home in on the likes of the 1961 miniature sheet of an issue to celebrate the 26th World Table Tennis Championships.
The Chinese stamps on offer pre-date the first national official issues, including, for example, an upper corner block of six from the 1866 Shanghai issue of dragon stamps.
The 147 British Empire and Commonwealth lots run from Ascension to Zanzibar, and include the highly collectible first Irish Free State issues, with the iconic overprinting of British stamps in Irish-language text.
Mr Hall adds: “There really are some once-in-a-lifetime prices in there, so make sure you don’t miss out.”
