News
Scandinavia gems to be sold for charity
American billionaire Bill Gross is to sell another collection for
charity.
His Scandinavia collection will go up for auction at Spink Shreves
on May 16, in aid of the Millennium Villages Project, which helps
African villages lift themselves out of poverty.
The collection includes a tête-bêche block of four of
Finland's 1856 10k rose, the finest of the three known. There is
also a registered letter bearing a 10k rose and a 5k with large
pearls, one of only two surviving covers franked with both.
Each of these rarities is estimated at over £50,000.
Fund manager Gross sold his stunning Great Britain collection last
year for $9.1m (about £4.5m), in aid of Medicins Sans Frontières.
Three days before the Gross sale, Spink Shreves will also sell the
Sovereign Collection of British Commonwealth and Western Europe,
with the proceeds going to the National Postal Museum in the USA.
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Unseen material on show
in regional definitives display
HEADER: Unseen material on show
in regional definitives display
An exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of regional definitives
has gone on display at the British Postal Museum & Archive.
It includes some of the essays produced during the reign of George
VI in 1946, and unused designs submitted for the first issued set
in 1958, as well as showing the progress of the final designs.
Douglas Muir, Curator of Philately at the BPMA, said: 'It is an
opportunity to see unique material which has not been shown in public
before.'
It was in 1956 that the Queen agreed to the issue of regional definitives,
to bear the Wilding portrait plus emblems for the various regions.
A special committee was set up to chose these symbols.
In 1958, 3d, 6d and 1s 3d values were issued for each of Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as 3d stamps for Guernsey, Jersey
and the Isle of Man, which at the time were not postally independent.
Withdrawn handstamp used in error
Stamps cancelled with a handstamp which was supposed to have been
withdrawn have surfaced on eBay.
In July 2007, Steve Oliver of Phil Stamp Covers submitted a handstamp
for the Harry Potter issue, which included the words 'Harri Potta'.
It was published in Royal Mail's Postmark Bulletin, but withdrawn
at the last minute, probably for copyright reasons.
Although the die had been made, Oliver believed no covers had been
cancelled with it, until Smilers cancelled with the handstamp appeared
on the market.
Portsmouth Stamp Shop, having seen the cancel in the Bulletin, sent
about 50 covers, in good faith, and had them cancelled with it.
Oliver said he was 'extremely upset' by the mistake.
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