A rare cover bearing a pair of Nova Scotia 1851 one shilling "cold violet" stamps has topped a US philatelic sale.
The 1853 cover, which also features a single yellow-green six-penny stamp, sold for $85,000 at Spink's November 18-19 Philatelic Collector's Series auction in New York.
 One of Bill Gross' favourite British North America covers |
It had arrived with a $75,000 high estimate.
Sent from Nova Scotia to Madras, India, it is regarded as one of the most important British North America (BNA) covers.
The envelope is a petit mourning cover; the black border indicating it contains condolences following a death.
It was formerly in the collection of noted businessman and stamp collector Bill Gross, a fact that added a further level of prestige to the item.
"One of Mr. Gross' favorite B.N.A. covers and when one sees this cover in person it is not hard to understand why," commented the auction house ahead of the sale.
The three stamps feature vibrant colours and large, nicely balanced margins.
Also selling well in New York was a block of four 1853 Nova Scotia 1-penny red brown stamps. With original gum, superb colours and large margins, the item sold for $20,000 against a $15,000 high estimate.
A third estimate-beating lot was provided by a Newfoundland 1857 2-penny scarlet vermillion cover. Arriving with a $15,000 valuation, it made $19,000.
We're offering a Newfoundland 1859 cover, bearing an 1857-1864 scarlet vermillion stamp, for sale in our online store.
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