A 1944 Philippines "Victory" overprint cover realised $17,500 at Robert A Siegel on November 18 in New York.
 The cover is one of only two featuring this configuration |
The lot headlined the sale of the Diamond Collection of United States Possessions, making a 133% increase on a $7,500 high estimate.
It includes the three rarest examples of the "Victory" overprint: the one-peso Barasoain Church, the 12-cent Triumphal Arch and the 4-cent air post.
Four other "Victory" overprints also appear, making this one of just two known examples featuring this configuration.
The overprints are the provisional, hand stamped forerunners of the official "Victory" issue that were released in 1945 to celebrate the US liberation of the Philippines.
These earlier examples were created in the city of Tacloban in the province of Leyte.
The cover features Leyte duplex cancels dating to December 16, 1944 and is addressed to a lieutenant in the US 6th Naval Construction Battalion.
A rare example of the $2 Offices in China double surcharge hammered for $15,000 - up 50% on a valuation of $10,000.
The error occurred on December 31, 1922 - days before the closure of the US Postal Offices in Shanghai, when a double surcharge mark was added to 200 $1 stamps.
Deputy postal agent EH Murray apparently knew of the error, but allowed it to go on sale as he was retiring and the agency was shutting down.
The stamp features a wide sheet selvage at the right, combined with a well-displaced surcharge and cancelled with a solid strike of the "US Pos. Service, Shanghai, China, Dec. 4" duplex.
You can view our selection of rare stamps here.
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