WHEN QUALITY IS A WINNING FACTOR
The small stamp collection of various countries presented in the section dedicated to Europe and Overseas at the Bolaffi sale last April did not escape the attention of more refined collectors. Except for the used stock of thirty-two ½ anna of the second issue of India (1854), one of the two largest known multiples which garnered 26,840 euros, the set did not include any particularly rare stamp but was characterised in particular by the very high quality of all the items, by far the distinctive hallmark of the sale.
The signature of Giulio Bolaffi, personally contacted by the collector almost fifty years ago to select the items, was considered a sine qua non guarantee in that Turin-based dealer, one of the greatest experts of the last century, was possibly the most active, untiring advocate of a state of preservation such as to reflect not only an indisputable authenticity but also to exalt the aesthetic value of the stamp insofar as a collector’s item. In time, this philosophy has proven to be the only truly valid approach able to withstand passing fashions, thus confirming its current relevance in particular now that stamp collecting finds its rationale in high level antiquarianism. This explains the prices fetched by many lots of this collection, which can be expected to increasingly define the standard for philately in years to come, well above the starting prices and close to the maximum values indicated in specialised catalogues. Amongst these, a block of 10 one Kreuzer black, the first postage stamp issued by the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1859 which, from a starting price of € 6,500, soared to a total of € 19,520.
A cover of March 14, 1856 from Bergen to Naples with a strip of six 4 skilling stamps of Norway’s first issue sold for a slightly higher amount (€ 20,740) while one of the finest known examples of a 54 Parale stamp of Moldavia cancelled on the envelope in 1858 changed hands for € 24,400, more than three times the starting price of € 7,500. These are just some significant examples of stamps that are not included amongst the maximum rarities of the collections of the related countries and which, in view of their imperfect state of preservation, would not, even remotely, reach such high prices. The same may also be said of the rarest items. In this case, a further factor in decreeing their appreciation in value is their history and subsequent changes of ownership insofar as the most coveted items have always been the prerogative of the most eminent collectors. A Mauritius 1848 ‘’Post Paid’’ intermediate impression 2d light blue, formerly part of the collections of Arthur Hind and Hiroyuki Kanai, garnered € 24,400, corresponding to the value of £20,000 indicated in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue. One of the most recent records achieved by Aste Bolaffi was forged by the same factors: at the sale of May 29, 2015, two Mauritius 1d orange and 2d blue post paid of the first print run were sold for € 204,000 from a starting price of € 70,000, corresponding to the price recorded at the 1993 Feldman auction in Zurich at which they were purchased by the collector who owned them for more than thirty years. The resulting 200% return on investment in the same period, confirms that, when maximum quality is a major factor, stamps are amongst the most stable and satisfactory safe haven investments.
While the stamps of the British colonies are universally renowned having been issued by one of the largest and most powerful empires in modern history, the stamps issued by the Papal State, used to send the correspondence of the capital of the Roman Catholic Church to the most distant corners of the earth, attract an equally large swath of collectors. In the past three years, Aste Bolaffi has been engaged in dispersing one of the most important collections comprising all the most significant stamps on cover of the three series issued in Pre-unification Rome in the period 1852-1870. The collection, which won awards at numerous international exhibitions, unfolds according to an encyclopaedic criterion that, in addition to all more typical stamps, also embraces varieties and specialisations. However, the results of the various sales confirm once again that quality is a crucial factor. At the last sale of April 21/22, a cover bearing five stamps of the 1867 and 1868 issues, in excellent condition and of great visual impact, including the imperforate 3 c. rose grey, soared to a final price of € 14,640 from a starting price of € 5,000. The same catalogue also included one of the five known covers with the 80 c. perforated carmine rose, known as the “fragolone” which was knocked down for € 85,400, while the stamp shown on the cover of the catalogue of the auction of December 10, 2015 (another cover sent to Brussels with three 1 scudo stamps of the first issue, the highest franking of the Papal State) fetched a total of € 51,240 from an initial estimate of € 30,000. Both items were of very high quality, probably the best possible considering the relative scarcity of similar stampings normally available on the market. At the same sale, a wrapper with no less than two 1867 3 c. grey, with a scarcity value certainly no less than that of the two previous documents (only around fifteen specimens of correspondence with this stamp are known) was knocked down for € 31,720 from a starting price of € 20,000. This impressive result was, however, undermined by the fact that, although all the items were perfect, the overall appearance of the stamp was visually less appealing than similar stampings. Aesthetic quality is also important.
BY Alberto Ponti
The signature of Giulio Bolaffi, personally contacted by the collector almost fifty years ago to select the items, was considered a sine qua non guarantee in that Turin-based dealer, one of the greatest experts of the last century, was possibly the most active, untiring advocate of a state of preservation such as to reflect not only an indisputable authenticity but also to exalt the aesthetic value of the stamp insofar as a collector’s item. In time, this philosophy has proven to be the only truly valid approach able to withstand passing fashions, thus confirming its current relevance in particular now that stamp collecting finds its rationale in high level antiquarianism. This explains the prices fetched by many lots of this collection, which can be expected to increasingly define the standard for philately in years to come, well above the starting prices and close to the maximum values indicated in specialised catalogues. Amongst these, a block of 10 one Kreuzer black, the first postage stamp issued by the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1859 which, from a starting price of € 6,500, soared to a total of € 19,520.
A cover of March 14, 1856 from Bergen to Naples with a strip of six 4 skilling stamps of Norway’s first issue sold for a slightly higher amount (€ 20,740) while one of the finest known examples of a 54 Parale stamp of Moldavia cancelled on the envelope in 1858 changed hands for € 24,400, more than three times the starting price of € 7,500. These are just some significant examples of stamps that are not included amongst the maximum rarities of the collections of the related countries and which, in view of their imperfect state of preservation, would not, even remotely, reach such high prices. The same may also be said of the rarest items. In this case, a further factor in decreeing their appreciation in value is their history and subsequent changes of ownership insofar as the most coveted items have always been the prerogative of the most eminent collectors. A Mauritius 1848 ‘’Post Paid’’ intermediate impression 2d light blue, formerly part of the collections of Arthur Hind and Hiroyuki Kanai, garnered € 24,400, corresponding to the value of £20,000 indicated in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue. One of the most recent records achieved by Aste Bolaffi was forged by the same factors: at the sale of May 29, 2015, two Mauritius 1d orange and 2d blue post paid of the first print run were sold for € 204,000 from a starting price of € 70,000, corresponding to the price recorded at the 1993 Feldman auction in Zurich at which they were purchased by the collector who owned them for more than thirty years. The resulting 200% return on investment in the same period, confirms that, when maximum quality is a major factor, stamps are amongst the most stable and satisfactory safe haven investments.
While the stamps of the British colonies are universally renowned having been issued by one of the largest and most powerful empires in modern history, the stamps issued by the Papal State, used to send the correspondence of the capital of the Roman Catholic Church to the most distant corners of the earth, attract an equally large swath of collectors. In the past three years, Aste Bolaffi has been engaged in dispersing one of the most important collections comprising all the most significant stamps on cover of the three series issued in Pre-unification Rome in the period 1852-1870. The collection, which won awards at numerous international exhibitions, unfolds according to an encyclopaedic criterion that, in addition to all more typical stamps, also embraces varieties and specialisations. However, the results of the various sales confirm once again that quality is a crucial factor. At the last sale of April 21/22, a cover bearing five stamps of the 1867 and 1868 issues, in excellent condition and of great visual impact, including the imperforate 3 c. rose grey, soared to a final price of € 14,640 from a starting price of € 5,000. The same catalogue also included one of the five known covers with the 80 c. perforated carmine rose, known as the “fragolone” which was knocked down for € 85,400, while the stamp shown on the cover of the catalogue of the auction of December 10, 2015 (another cover sent to Brussels with three 1 scudo stamps of the first issue, the highest franking of the Papal State) fetched a total of € 51,240 from an initial estimate of € 30,000. Both items were of very high quality, probably the best possible considering the relative scarcity of similar stampings normally available on the market. At the same sale, a wrapper with no less than two 1867 3 c. grey, with a scarcity value certainly no less than that of the two previous documents (only around fifteen specimens of correspondence with this stamp are known) was knocked down for € 31,720 from a starting price of € 20,000. This impressive result was, however, undermined by the fact that, although all the items were perfect, the overall appearance of the stamp was visually less appealing than similar stampings. Aesthetic quality is also important.
BY Alberto Ponti