Our 61st sale was an online auction only, comprising over 650 lots offering a wide range of material.
The Australian Colonies include some large accumulations of mostly later issues in large quantities, which should attract the interest of students in this area. There are also sizeable collections of barred numeral cancellations of New South Wales and Victoria, and a range of Tasmanian postal history. An interesting lot is an album containing the 1901 Federal Presentation Sets for each State. Victoria has a number of ‘Rundell’ first day covers of the 1901 No ‘POSTAGE’ and ‘POSTAGE’ issues.
Australian Commonwealth begins with what may be the finest offering of the 1d Kangaroo ever at auction. The imperforate plate proof on manilla card includes one of two possible monogram pieces, and is followed by positional pieces from every electro, including a complete set of all no monograms and monograms, and many of the scarcer plate varieties. There is a complete sheet of Plate G and another, split into four quarters, from Plate K. Amongst the other Kangaroo lots are a further offering of cancelled-to-order stamps, and an unused £2 Sperati forgery, believed to be one of two known. The King George V issues feature cancelled-to-order stamps. For King George VI, two rarities are the £1 Robes unsurfaced paper used on a large parcel front (it is believed this stamp has not been recorded on cover previously), and the £1 Arms in a corner block of 4 overprinted SPECIMEN. Throughout the George VI and Elizabeth II issues there are a number of rare die proofs and plate numbers, as well as a selection of post office presentation cards. A fine selection of pre-decimal and decimal collectors’ packs featuring different folders and make-ups are also offered, as well as other presentation booklets, the best of which is an example of the 1942 Telegraphic Conference booklet with a complete set of Australian current and obsolete issues up to the £2 Kangaroo. A 1913-21 1d Postage Due block with part Harrison single-line imprint is a new discovery.
From the Rest of the World a highlight is a further portion of the Richard Peck collection of Tristan da Cunha, this time featuring modern material with artwork, die proofs and a number of rare printing errors.
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