|
|
Post by scottstarling on Oct 12, 2013 10:39:15 GMT
There is a vigorous debate currently raging on the 'other' stamp chat site about this stamp. I thought I'd come over here for some clear air.
If the moderators feel that this belongs in the Australia\KGV area, feel free to move it.
Phoenix Auction Web Site
Auction # 25, Lot # 1493
Starting Price is AUS$75,000
(I can't seem to get a URL for the actual auction lot)
The stamp in question:
Scott
|
|
|
|
Post by scottstarling on Oct 12, 2013 10:51:43 GMT
Some background for those who are unfamiliar with the stamp, here is what I wrote for the Australian stamp magazine Australian Stamps Professional----------------------------------
The Australian penny red KGV Head was first issued in 1914 and quickly became one of the most studied stamps on the planet. After 99 years collectors thought the issue had no more secrets – that myth was destroyed only a few short months ago.
Mr John Dickson of Edinburgh, Scotland bought an unassuming Australian collection, that had sat in a cupboard since the 1960’s, at auction from Kinross Stamps (www.kinrossstamps.co.uk). He regularly buys collections to break down and sell through Ebay.
Most of the early Kangaroo and KGV Heads had been identified by the original owner, the auction house’s examination before sale confirmed this - the higher values were all correct. It seemed to be a nice little lot for an Ebay seller and was duly purchased for the sum of £180.
With no particular specialty in Australian stamps, the Ebay seller relied on the original collector’s annotations and his trusty Stanley Gibbons catalogue. However, one stamp, a 1d red KGV had no notes next to it and didn’t seem to be listed in his catalogue.
This stamp had the single crown watermark sideways, so listed it on Ebay described as best he could and with a 99p starting price; trusting that bidders with more specialist knowledge would bid the item to its appropriate value.
The Gates of Hell then opened and Mr Dickson was very quickly bombarded with e-mails variously saying: that the stamp couldn’t possibly exist, it was a forgery or it was a very important find. A penny red with sideways watermark had indeed never been seen before.
So the stamp was quickly removed from Ebay and more advice was sought. The first port of call was Richard Allcoat at Kinross Stamps, where the stamp was originally purchased. Richard also had no particular in-depth knowledge of the early Australian issues, but suspected it was something very special. Fortunately Richard did know another dealer that would have sufficient specialist knowledge – Ian Perry.
Ian Perry is a UK based, specialist dealer in Australian stamps (ianperrystamps@aol.com) and immediately knew the stamp was something special.
As luck would have it, Ian was travelling to Australia for the Melbourne 2013 Exhibition – the biggest stamp show ever to be held in Australia - and would have a stand there. He was commissioned by the owner to bring the stamp to Australia and to try to find a buyer for the unique item.
A large number of KGV experts were also present at the show and those of us who were attending agreed to examine the stamp.
A further stroke of luck was that Dr. Neil Holland of Scientific Document Services (www.scientificdocuments.com.au) also had a stand at the show and is one of the foremost experts in the field of forensic detection of forgeries.
His stand had available every scientific instrument that the panel needed and this enabled the experts to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the stamp was genuine and not a fabrication.
Mr Michael Drury duly issued a certificate and four other experts were also signatories. The shade is carmine-red (G10) and bears a Leichhardt 9 NOV 1914 cancel. The stamp isn’t perfect, there is a thin and a few small tears.
The stamp attained near rock-star status at the show and Ian was very obliging, showing the stamp to all who asked and even allowing people to pose for photos with it!
Ian was professionally discreet about any offers made on the item, but by show’s end a suitable figure hadn’t been reached. It was then decided to hand the stamp to Phoenix Auctions (http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au) who will offer it for sale at a date yet to be determined (well we now know it'll be auctioned in a couple of weeks).
So the story isn’t over yet and we all eagerly wait to see if it sets a record price when sold.
In the meantime, everyone reading this should look through their penny red KGV collections, especially for stamps with a 1914 or early 1915 Leichhardt postmark as there may well be a couple of others lurking out there. Happy Hunting!
----------------------------------
Scott
|
|
|
|
Post by scottstarling on Oct 12, 2013 10:59:44 GMT
Anyway, I'd be interested to know what people think the hammer price will be. Or maybe it won't sell?
The stamp isn't perfect, it has a thin and a few small tears. The Drury certificate doesn't mention condition, his certificates never do. A Drury certificate is designed to be a determination of the shade and the authenticity of any other features (in this case the sideways watermark).
His certificates are being strongly criticized by a particular party on the 'other' board. I don't particularly want to wade into the debate over there, but I'd like to hear people's opinions here.
I, along with a lot of other KGV collectors, examined this stamp in every way possible and I can vouch for its authenticity.
Sorry, I don't have a scan of the certificate.
Scott
|
|
Ryan
Moderator 
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,749 
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
|
Post by Ryan on Oct 12, 2013 11:42:05 GMT
Anyway, I'd be interested to know what people think the hammer price will be. Or maybe it won't sell?
The stamp isn't perfect, it has a thin and a few small tears. The Drury certificate doesn't mention condition, his certificates never do. A Drury certificate is designed to be a determination of the shade and the authenticity of any other features (in this case the sideways watermark).
His certificates are being strongly criticized by a particular party on the 'other' board. I don't particularly want to wade into the debate over there, but I'd like to hear people's opinions here.
I'm surprised by the fact that condition isn't mentioned on the certificate - that's one of the basic points covered by the Vincent Graves Greene Foundation here in Canada when they issue certificates. From the VGG website: For a truly unique item in a collecting area as popular as your KGV sidefaces, I would be surprised if it "only" sold for $75,000. As a unique item, I doubt the condition will matter much - it could have staple holes through it, but if you wanted it, there might not be any sense in waiting for a better copy to come along when there aren't any other copies known to exist at all. The Canadian 2c Large Queen on laid paper has a catalogue value of around $250,000 and there are only 3 of those known - the third copy was just discovered this year. That 2c stamp has the added strength behind it of a major catalogue number - perhaps it would be of lower value if it were numbered #23v instead of #32! Do you have a guess as to what you think it will sell for? Your population is about 2/3 of that of Canada, will it go for 2/3 of the value for our 2c Large Queen? I'll bet no - maybe $100K - $120K. Let me check my piggy bank, maybe I can get in on the bidding .... Ryan |
|
rod222
Member 
Posts: 11,047
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
|
Post by rod222 on Oct 12, 2013 12:27:28 GMT
Nice "feel good" story,
may I enquire as to the "The shade is carmine-red (G10) " what is the G10?
As to the hammer price, it depends on the stamps promotion, and who is listening.
As we have seen before, Australian stamps, esp the Kangaroos and Sidefaces attract worldwide Investors.
It could just be anything, the NZ inverted Lake Taupo has done well.
Personally, I find the fact it was discovered, is more exciting than the price it will fetch.
|
|
|
|
Post by scottstarling on Oct 14, 2013 11:55:29 GMT
Ryan,
Thank you for your input. I would agree that the majority of expert certificates from around the world do have a 'condition' section.
Michael Drury has never mentioned condition on his certificates as they were mainly designed as instruments to correctly identify the shade of the stamp and any varieties. In this case the Australian KGV penny red issue is one that has at least sixty major shade groups that vary from a few cents to thousands of dollars, so the shade has always been the most important factor.
This leads on to rod222's question, what is 'G10'. The penny red shades are grouped in shade groups that are given G-numbers, in this case G10 = carmine-red. It is a shorthand way that penny red collectors use to talk about their babies!
Scott
|
|
|
|
Post by scottstarling on Oct 15, 2013 4:19:27 GMT
Also, I'd like to point out why the shade was important with this sideways stamp.
When the group of experts got together (plus me) we tried to think of ways that this stamp could have been forged. I won't go into too many, don't want to inspire people 
However, one possible method was that someone could have taken a no watermark example and impressed a fake watermark into it. That is no mean task and no watermark examples of the Australian penny red are $5000 a piece stamps anyway.
This shade of the penny red has had no instances of no watermark recorded, so in order for that scenario to have played out, someone would have had to have found a unique carmine-red (G10) no watermark and then messed around with it.
The main instances of no watermark examples come from the shades deep scarlet on rough paper (G60) and carmine aniline on rough paper (G62). This was because the rough paper wasn't designed for printing stamps and didn't have holes on the edges for pinning the sheets down for printing. Consequently the paper occasionally slipped up or down and the top or bottom rows ended up being printed in a no watermark area.
Sorry, that description got a bit long 
Scott
|
|
