Rarities from the War Department were the stars of Robert A. Seigel's final stamp auction of 2010, to cap a fine year for the company.
Their sale of 'Specialized US Collections, Air Post, Foreign Stamps & Covers' featured a number of important single owner collections such as the Dr. David H. Lobdell Collections of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Issue and War Department Officials.
And it was a War Department stamp that took the top spot for the highest price of the auction. The extremely rare 12-cent War Department issue with a "sepcimen" overprint error was described as the only recorded example of its kind.
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And its rarity and high quality meant it more than doubled its pre-sale estimate of $13,500, eventually selling for $29,000.
The next highest lots were a similar 90c War Department issue with the same overprint error which sold for $24,000, and the 15c and 24c issues (again with the overprint) that each sold for $23,000.
The other notable lot was a "phenomenal postal history rarity": a postal cover sent from Switzerland to Paris just days before the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War in September 1870. It was held in Paris during the siege, then forwarded to Belgium by Ballon Monte then forwarded yet again to England.
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The remarkable cover had an estimated value of $7,500 - $10,000 but its uniqueness led to a winning bid of an impressive $19,500.
The sale featured a number of investment-grade stamps, and although the auction was relatively modest compared to their recent high-profile events it attracted a solid crowd of international collectors and investors.
With the company now preparing for 2011, philatelists can look ahead to a year in which the stamp market is set to go from strength to strength.
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