Bill Gross's collection of European themed stamps was sold yesterday at Spink Shreves' Auction Galleries.
The auction was a relatively small one by the standards of the modern maestro of philately, but several of the 159 lots were truly exceptional.
Under the heading of France and Colonies, German Offices and Colonies, Italian States and Spain, the sale was dominated by the domestic French pieces, especially those from the 1849-50 Ceres issue.
The top lot for the sale was, as expected, the tête-bêche 1849 1Fr carmine-on-yellow horizontal pair, with the inverted head facing its partner. A tête-bêche, or head-to-tail, pair is where a joined pair of stamps is printed with one stamp inverted relative to the other.
One of four known to exist, and one of the most coveted tête-bêche pairs of its kind, the ex-Ferrary piece sold for $190,000.
 Light Carmine On Yellowish tête-bêche |
The two other lots to sell for over $100,000 were also horizontal multiple: a strip of three 1849 1Fr Pale vermilion "Vervelle" on yellowish and an 1850 40c Orange on yellowish strip of five.
The former piece boasts manuscript notations in the sheet selvage mentioning the printing dates of the 1Fr Vermilion and is of bright and fresh impression. A unique piece, and one of the most important multiples in French philately, it brought $130,000.
 1 Fr Pale Vermilion strip of three |
The latter is the only strip of five of its kind known, and comes from the lower right corner of it original sheet, as shown by the margins. Another ex-Ferrary piece, it achieved $100,000 exactly.
Bill Gross and his wife Sue are donating all the proceeds from the sale to the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières Emergency Relief Fund.
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