SIERRA LEONE NOT JUST DIAMONDS
At Bolaffì’s Philatelic Auction on 20 and 21 April 2017, a pair of used, fiscal stamps, overprinted with a value of two and a half pence over two shillings, issued in 1897 by Sierra Leone, achieved a final price of 91,500 euros, the top price of the entire auction.
The detail that made this lot so rare was the presence of two different types of overprinting on the first and second exemplars, which made it a rarity desired by specialized collectors.
The issue of overprinted, fiscal stamps is by far the most soughtafter of all those issued in the small African state overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, a British possession since 1808, and whose first stamps saw the light in 1861 with two 6-pence stamps depicting the effigy of Queen Victoria.
Among other soughtafter items from the colony are the five-pounds from the two pictorial series of George V issued in the 1920’s, which now have a catalog listing of 3,500 and 3,000 pounds. The subsequent series, though appealing from a graphic point of view, have significantly lower prices, following the fate of all stamp issues from independent African states, characterized by larger print runs and not exempt, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, from speculative phenomena. In the case of Sierra Leone, entry as an independent member of the Commonwealth dates back to 1961, and stamps of the following period, because of the very limited use of postal services in a state characterized by very high illiteracy, mostly became curious collectors ‘gadgets’ of untraditional forms such as circles and ovals, and even diamonds, eagles, and outlines of the African continent.
Apart from the single pieces presented, it is the postal history of the country which deserves attention, for which interest has grown in recent decades. The small amount of letters available from the most philatelically relevant period, is almost always made up of correspondence between the administrative offices of the colony and the motherland, although there are also some interesting examples of commercial letters concerning the exploitation of diamond mines, which are numerous in the country. In this last case, besides the postage, other elements such as destination, route, taxation, and the contents of the missives, if any, can be introduced to outline a historical and documental overview of undeniable charm and fascination.
Results such as that achieved by the Sierra Leone pair, if not even much higher, for important pieces from the British colonies are, however, not an isolated case since the British Commonwealth collection is still very popular with a large number of enthusiasts around the world. It is no wonder, therefore, that at some of the most prestigious international auctions, stamps from countries such as Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritius, and Newfoundland, to name a few, achieve results of several hundred thousand pounds or dollars, or even millions. This is the case of the only known example of the 1-cent British Guyana magenta of 1856, auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for $ 9.5 million in 2014, bought by US designer and entrepreneur Stuart Weitzman, for the highest price ever achieved in the philatelic field.
At Aste Bolaffi’s auctions, the most significant recent results regarding historical issues of the British Empire were achieved by a 500 dollar sheet corner, a high-value issued in 1921 for the East Indies Straits Settlements, presented for sale on 12 December 2014 at a starting price of 25,000 euros and sold for 81,000 euros, and by the two 1848 ‘Post Paid’ (respectively, numbers 3 and 4 of the Stanley Gibbons catalogue) from Mauritius. The two pieces, already part of the albums of some of the leading protagonists in the world of philately such as Burrus, Ferrary, Hind, and Kanai, were sold together for 204,000 euros.
Indeed, the stamp collecting tradition of the British area can boast illustrious precedents, beginning with King George V, one of the most famous philatelists in history, who expanded the collection inherited from his father Edward VII to make it one of the largest in the field. Continued by his descendants, including the current Queen Elizabeth II, the collection is now hosted at St. James Palace and parts of it may be periodically admired
at the Royal Philatelic Society in London as well as at major international exhibitions.
by ALBERTO PONTI
The detail that made this lot so rare was the presence of two different types of overprinting on the first and second exemplars, which made it a rarity desired by specialized collectors.
The issue of overprinted, fiscal stamps is by far the most soughtafter of all those issued in the small African state overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, a British possession since 1808, and whose first stamps saw the light in 1861 with two 6-pence stamps depicting the effigy of Queen Victoria.
Among other soughtafter items from the colony are the five-pounds from the two pictorial series of George V issued in the 1920’s, which now have a catalog listing of 3,500 and 3,000 pounds. The subsequent series, though appealing from a graphic point of view, have significantly lower prices, following the fate of all stamp issues from independent African states, characterized by larger print runs and not exempt, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, from speculative phenomena. In the case of Sierra Leone, entry as an independent member of the Commonwealth dates back to 1961, and stamps of the following period, because of the very limited use of postal services in a state characterized by very high illiteracy, mostly became curious collectors ‘gadgets’ of untraditional forms such as circles and ovals, and even diamonds, eagles, and outlines of the African continent.
Apart from the single pieces presented, it is the postal history of the country which deserves attention, for which interest has grown in recent decades. The small amount of letters available from the most philatelically relevant period, is almost always made up of correspondence between the administrative offices of the colony and the motherland, although there are also some interesting examples of commercial letters concerning the exploitation of diamond mines, which are numerous in the country. In this last case, besides the postage, other elements such as destination, route, taxation, and the contents of the missives, if any, can be introduced to outline a historical and documental overview of undeniable charm and fascination.
Results such as that achieved by the Sierra Leone pair, if not even much higher, for important pieces from the British colonies are, however, not an isolated case since the British Commonwealth collection is still very popular with a large number of enthusiasts around the world. It is no wonder, therefore, that at some of the most prestigious international auctions, stamps from countries such as Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritius, and Newfoundland, to name a few, achieve results of several hundred thousand pounds or dollars, or even millions. This is the case of the only known example of the 1-cent British Guyana magenta of 1856, auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York for $ 9.5 million in 2014, bought by US designer and entrepreneur Stuart Weitzman, for the highest price ever achieved in the philatelic field.
At Aste Bolaffi’s auctions, the most significant recent results regarding historical issues of the British Empire were achieved by a 500 dollar sheet corner, a high-value issued in 1921 for the East Indies Straits Settlements, presented for sale on 12 December 2014 at a starting price of 25,000 euros and sold for 81,000 euros, and by the two 1848 ‘Post Paid’ (respectively, numbers 3 and 4 of the Stanley Gibbons catalogue) from Mauritius. The two pieces, already part of the albums of some of the leading protagonists in the world of philately such as Burrus, Ferrary, Hind, and Kanai, were sold together for 204,000 euros.
Indeed, the stamp collecting tradition of the British area can boast illustrious precedents, beginning with King George V, one of the most famous philatelists in history, who expanded the collection inherited from his father Edward VII to make it one of the largest in the field. Continued by his descendants, including the current Queen Elizabeth II, the collection is now hosted at St. James Palace and parts of it may be periodically admired
at the Royal Philatelic Society in London as well as at major international exhibitions.
by ALBERTO PONTI