Canadian Stamp Sells for $425,000 at Spink Shreves Auction

The Black Empress of Canada - The Epitome of Perfection

Sc#3, 1851 12d. Black on laid paper, an astonishing quality mint example of this legendary classic rarity, being in a condition unmatched by any other in existence, featuring a spectacular overall freshness and brilliance, with intensely rich color and a sharp detailed impression on pristine paper, four incredibly large and well balanced margins (more than likely the margin at bottom is a partial sheet margin), and its reverse is equally impressive, displaying absolutely immaculate full original gum without a single bend or blemish, and most astounding of all the stamp is never hinged, a superb gem in every regard.
more ...

Rare $820,000 British Hong Kong Stamps Sold At Auction - Record Prices

A quartet of the most important stamps in Hong Kong philately sold Sunday for a record 6.4 million Hong Kong dollars (US$820,000) to an anonymous Asian buyer.

The extremely rare 1865 96-cent stamps in mint condition features a profile of Queen Victoria. The image is based on sketches made by Sir Hercules G. R. Robinson, governor of Hong Kong from 1859 to 1865 (the city’s Robinson Road is named after him).

The block was sold by Spink, a London-based auction house, during a sale of rare stamps, coins, bank notes, bonds and shares Saturday and Sunday at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.

There were other notable lots, including a unique $1 Qing dynasty bank note of Henan (or Honan) province that sold for HK$2.4 million — a world-auction record for a classic Chinese bank note. But the prize of the weekend sale was the Queen Victoria 96-cent foursome.

The block is noteworthy to collectors for three main reasons: It was printed in early 1865, when stamps and stamp collecting were in their infancy. Its color — olive-bistre, in philately-speak — was a mistake, due to an error by the printing company De La Rue in London. Because of the color error — they were supposed to be a brownish-gray shade — only 52 sheets were printed, which makes them rare: Only 48 unused examples of this particular stamp exist today, according to Spink. The other 36 are believed to be single stamps, and this particular block of four the only multiple set of unused examples.

This block, highly coveted by collectors of Hong Kong stamps, was previously owned by well-known philatelists such as George Burghard of New York, Ryohei Ishikawa of Tokyo and Richard C.K. Chan of Hong Kong. It has appeared at auction only twice before, the last time in London in December 1980.
The purchase of this block by an anonymous Asian investor is part of a massive shift of Chinese collectibles back to China from the West.

“The passion of these Chinese collectors is amazing to watch,” said Olivier Stocker, chairman and chief executive of Spink. “The Chinese stamp market has been vibrant for many years because since the beginning of the Communist era, stamp collecting has always been a hobby that was encouraged.”

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/01/25/the-820000-stamp/

Zodiac stamps a lucrative investment for Chinese stamp collectors

SHANGHAI : Commemorative zodiac animal stamps are proving to be a lucrative investment for collectors in China.

The mainland has been releasing the 12 zodiac stamps yearly since 1980 and they have all appreciated in value. This year's rabbit stamps are no exception.

The year of the rabbit is jumping ahead with China Post's release of the latest addition to its zodiac stamp series to commemorate the year 2011.

And if sales of the stamps are any indication of the year ahead, it's off to a hopping good start with most stores selling out within four hours of their release.

Wu Cai Hong, general manager, Shanghai Post Company, said: "The stamp industry is very prosperous this year. The value of all stamps has appreciated.

"The price of many old-edition stamps has increased a lot. It managed to put an end to the 13-year depressed stamp market, so collectors are very eager about purchasing the zodiac stamps this year."

And stamp collectors this year are especially excited about their investments. The 1.20 yuan (18 US cent) stamps appreciated threefold in just one day.

Zhao Shi Liang, a stamp investor, said: "... Many people have high expectations for the value of these zodiac stamps because the value of the first edition stamp has appreciated up to US$1,641 (11,000 RMB) each.

"Because of such enthusiasm in the zodiac stamp investment, the value has been climbing since the beginning of this year."

Mr Yang Ri Chun, who has been collecting stamps for the past 15 years, decided to invest in the first edition monkey stamps.

Mr Yang said: "This book includes all the zodiac stamps issued since 1980 and it's priced at US$1,940 (13,000 RMB). I love collecting stamps."

One of the stamps was only worth 0.011 US cents 30 years ago - today, it's worth US$761.

Last year's Tiger stamp has doubled its price, while the 2008 Ox stamp is worth 80 US cents today compared to 18 US cents 2 years ago. So it is turning out to quite a Happy New Year for stamp collectors this year. 

China Post began issuing stamps based on the Chinese zodiac signs in 1980, which was the year of the monkey. According to the All-China Philatelic Federation, there are about 20 million collectors in the mainland to date.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/1106668/1/.html