Spink Shreves concluded their Collectors Series Sale last week, which held many very rare and valuable pieces from serious collectors.

The sale was so vast that it's only now that some of the results have come to light. One, lot number 1176, consisted of a valuable old-time accumulation of mint stamps neatly arranged in thousands of glassines.

Although various kinds and some lower quality pieces came with the lot, the strength of the piece was in the 1890-1930 period, with singles, blocks, plate blocks and strips and commemoratives all well represented.

A 30c Columbian series stamp - valuable in good condition

In particular, hundreds of Columbian and Trans-Mississippi series would have been the find of the decade for someone collecting that range. Many of the pieces had never been hinged.

Spink Shreves had estimated conservatively at $20,000-30,000, but those at the auction simply ignored this and pressed the sale price all the way up to $230,000.

A strong indication of the investment power of rare stamps.