An online auction of collectible stamps is humming away merrily for the philatelic dealers Earl P.L. Apfelbaum. Today they are concentrating on American stamps, and tomorrow the lots on offer are exclusively those from the British Commonwealth.

Amongst these, and there are a grand total of 1,199 philatelic lots on offer in this section alone, a couple stand out. Notably there is an 1852-5 6 pence Slate Gray Canadian stamp.

Canadian 6 pence 1852-55 Stamp

The piece is in far from perfect condition, with no margins to speak of and a tear, and it lacks gum. Nevertheless, this does not ruin the immediate impression of the piece which remains quite fresh.

It is a younger sibling to the 1851 6p slate stamp which Bill Gross sold as part of his $1.9m auction of British North American stamps last year. That piece, estimated at $32,500 actually brought $65,000. Obviously the version here is not going to bring that much.

Nevertheless a rough guide price has been set of $20,000, and it might well be worth an investor looking at it as a possible investment, as a rare opportunity to own a version of that early stamp which could easily be missed by some bidders amongst the many lots.

The auction concludes tomorrow.