Prices include 15 per cent buyer’s premium.

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries recently hosted a sale of worldwide stamps and postal history, including some highlight Canadian material.

Siegel Sale No. 1130, which was held June 14-15, included a series of lots from Canadian provinces at the tail end of session one (Lot #1131-1193) as well as a large selection of material issued by the Province of Canada and Dominion of Canada through the first half of session two (Lot #1194-1375).

CANADIAN PROVINCES

Among the top highlights from the Canadian provinces section was Lot #1161, a 1928-31 Newfoundland 20-cent large die proof and colour trial in Very Fine condition. It crossed the block for $1,200 USD (about $1,540 Cdn.), which was about four times its pre-sale estimate of $300-$400.

Another highlight was Lot #1184, a cover sent to New York from Boston and Halifax on April 21, 1858. Affixed to this piece of pre-Confederation postal history are a pair of one-pence red brown stamps and a three-pence bright blue stamp issued by Nova Scotia in 1853.It’s also accompanied by a clear 1994 Greene Foundation certificate. In Very Fine condition, this “rare and attractive” use of the five-pence packet rate to New York realized $2,900 USD ($3,730 Cdn.) after an estimate of $2,000-$3,000.

PROVINCE OF CANADA

Moving on to Province of Canada issues, there was Lot #1207, a “very rare” unused (no gum) 1855 six-pence slate gray (Scott #5) stamp. This “most affordable yet reasonably attractive unused example” realized $2,800 USD ($3,600 Cdn.) after an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

LADANY COLLECTION

More highlights came from Israeli racewalker and two-time Olympian Shaul Ladany’s specialized collection of telegraph and telephone stamps.

One of the more interesting lots from this collection was Lot #1374, an undated one-cent frank issued by King Telephone Co. In Fine condition, this “rare and unlisted” telephone company frank is believed to be the only known example.

According to auctioneers, the piece earned a brief mention in S.E.R. Hiscock’s Telegraph & Telephone Stamps of the World Catalog as “a single stamp of this company is reported by Jarrett (1929). Nothing more is known about it”. The previous owner, whose March 2016 American Philatelist article accompanies the piece, details his discovery of the frank in a dealer’s stock.

“This could prove to be one of the rarest Canadian Telephone stamps and a key item for the Canadian revenue collector,” according to the auction catalogue.

It crossed the block for $1,500 USD ($1,930 Cdn.) at the recent Siegel sale, which was its first time at auction.

Other highlight material from the recent Siegel sale included The Dr. Hawkins Valliant Maulding Collection of Belgian Congo stamps and postal history; an extensive selection of lithograph issue postal history of India; and numerous worldwide collections and large lots.