The world record for an item of Mongolian philately was set at the Russian Post Offices in the Chinese Empire sale from the collection of Dr Raymond Casey in Geneva, Switzerland last week.
This first part of Dr Casey's sale saw a 1916 envelope sent insured from Ulyasutai to Peking, estimated at €70,000, sell for €408,000 ($540,000), an increase of 482.8%.
The franked item features 10k and 35k Arms in addition to a Romanov 50k.
The only known insurance label from Ulyasutai, it is also thought to be the only franked Romanov from Ulyasutai, and just one of seven franked Romanovs in existence.
 The new star of Mongolian philately |
A 1906 envelope sent registered from the Russian Consular Office in Urumchi sold for €66,000 against a €20,000 valuation.
Meanwhile, a Tientsin 1875 cover to England, estimated to achieve €80,000, made €96,000.
"This collection is the most comprehensive and extensive ever formed for this collecting area to come to auction, and will form the basis for two further auctions in the coming 12 months," said the auction house.
We will bring you all the details from these upcoming sales closer to the time.
The April 18-20 auction session in Geneva, Switzerland also featured the second auction of former chess champion Anatoly Karpov's Belgian stamp collection.
Pick of the lots was an 1861 20c Epaulettes with 20c Medaillons perforation essay letter, which sold for €240,000 ($317,650), up 1,500% on its estimate.
Here at Paul Fraser Collectibles we are proud of our collection of investment-grade stamps, including this 1840 Great Britain presentation sheet from the rainbow trials.
