Harvey Mirsky Collection first issue block up 125% on estimate

A block of first issue stamps from The Harvey Mirsky Collection achieved $450,000 on April 24

A block of four United States 1847 10 cent stamps made $450,000 at an auction of The Harvey Mirsky Collection yesterday (April 24, 2012).

1847 10 cent Black block of four

The New York auction comprised some of the finest extant US first issues from the collection of the renowned postal historian, Harvey Mirsky.

Considered to be one of the most important of its kind, the collection went to auction following the former marketing boss' death in 2011.  

The 10 cent Black block of four 1847 first issues with original gum went under the hammer with an estimate of $200,000, selling for 125% above that figure.

There are only two unused blocks of the stamp available to collectors, including the example that sold in yesterday's sale, with a third block without gum in the Swiss PTT Museum. The lot has been described as one of the rarest and most important multiples in classic philately.

A further block of 10 5-cent stamps from the 1847 issue made $75,000 in the auction. The lot is one of the largest multiples of its kind and particularly desirable to collectors as the corner margins are intact.

Also in the sale was a very fine cover, one of the eight recorded examples of the United States city dispatch post carrier stamps, which were used to prepay inter-city postage. This remarkable lot featured two horizontal pairs of the 3 cent Black on Green Glazed rarity, which made $50,000 against an estimate of $30,000-40,000.

Paul Fraser Collectibles brings you up to date news from the world of philately, as well as offering our own range of rare stamps. This British plate of 12 from the 1840 Rainbow Trials represents the birth of philately. Printed in black, the stamps are a prototype of the world's first adhesive postage stamp.

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Images: Robert A. Seigel Auction Galleries