Six stamp lots, all covers, will dominate Spink's upcoming auction of West African stamps in London on November 12.
The stamps are from the collection of John Sacher.
Three of these lots include Gambian stamps, specifically rare 1874 imperforate 4d Gambian browns. Two covers are estimated at £8,000-10,000, bearing a single 4d Gambian brown with neat cancellation strikes.
The third, which combines one 4d imperforate Gambian brown with a single Gambian 1/2d orange, plus a strip of three of the latter, all perforated is valued at £10,000-12,000.
Surprisingly, it is addressed to the US city of Washington DC.
An 1894 cover shows two 'Benin river' (from Nigeria) cancellations on its 1887-92 2 1/2d purple-on-blue and 3d purple-on-yellow stamps. A further clean strike appears on the cover, helping to make this rare cover an attractive piece from the Oil Rivers Protectorate period. It carries an estimate of £9,000-10,000.
An 1885 cover addressed to Marsden, Lisbon bears two blue 40 reis and two green 10 reis stamps. One of the 40 reis examples bears the rare 'Moçambique', rather than Cabo Verde, text. All have overprints (large 'Guine' on the 10 reis). It is expected to sell for £9,000-10,000.
 Split Gold Coast 2d green |
Top lot is an 1884 piece of military mail from Gold Coast (modern day Ghana) to Belize on which the 2d green stamp has been halved diagonally with only half remaining. It is thought to be worth £12,000-15,000.
The auction is on November 12, and is an excellent opportunity for philatelists to aquire some rarities from this region. Spink are also holding an auction of British stamps on November 11.
But, if you can't wait until next month to get your hands of a rare, treasured and one-of-a-kind stamp, at Paul Fraser Collectibles we currently have a Tyrian plum which can be yours to own.
For further information please contact Adrian Roose at adrianroose@paulfrasercollectibles.com or telephone +44 (0) 117 933 9503
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