Offering over 1300 lots from across the globe, Stanley Gibbons Auction 5685 held on Thursday 22nd March exceeded the company’s expectations with a final realisation of over £840,000; further proof of the buoyancy of the stamp market despite difficult financial times.
A consistently full room saw China material selling well with the “The Whole Country is Red” selling for £57,500. This section was closely followed by an outstanding Denmark collection (Lot 25) offered intact. The lot had aroused a great deal of interest during private and public viewing prior to the auction and was believed to be one of the best collections of Denmark to be offered intact. Estimated at £10,000, the collection soared to £34,500 selling to the room despite frantic telephone bidding.
The sale also featured a superb collection of Falkland Islands material with all lots finding new homes. Demand for all periods in this popular collecting area was strong. A ‘Black Frank’ on piece (Lot 242 Est £1,100) sold for just under £2,000 whilst a superb lower left corner marginal example of the 1964 Battle of the Falklands 1/- value with watermark inverted sold for a remarkable £2,760.
The remaining British Empire sections all sold well, with two outstanding Norfolk Island covers (Lots 534, 535) bringing £9,200 each.
As with British Empire, the demand for collections of overseas countries remains very strong; a Bradbury Wilkinson presentation folder (Lot 661) estimated at £2,000 achieved £6,900 in the room after a lengthy challenge on the telephone.
The afternoon session saw 600 lots of Great Britain material offered for sale with 1840 1d blacks proving desirable, both on and off cover as well as surface printed issues. Collections of Great Britain also proved to be as popular as ever, with a remarkable collection of First Day Covers in 29 albums ( Lot 1264) selling for almost £15,000 against an estimate of £10,000.
The King George V section included a remarkable collection which had been donated to the Christian charity, ‘Tearfund’. Competition to buy the 300 lots was evident at the outset; the full room took most of the lots on offer, with the single value collections hotly contested. Lots 945, 946, 947 and 949 (each being collections of the 1d values) sold for well above estimate, achieving £2,300, £2,500, £2,000 and £3,910 respectively. The Seahorses experienced the same demand and a 1935 Silver Jubilee Prussian Blue (Lot 1171 est £6,000) sold for £9,700.
With a total realisation in excess of £840,000 and relatively few unsolds, Auctioneer Ryan Epps commented, “this result is very pleasing for a sale of a general nature. Demand for good material remains strong. It bodes well for our next auction, a specialised sale of British Africa on 17th May”
For more information regarding Stanley Gibbons auctions visit the Stanley Gibbons website, stanleygibbons.com or contact Richard Watkins or Ryan Epps on 0207 836 8444.
Further auctions are to be held in May, June, September and December 2012