As we await the results of Grosvenor's auction of British Empire, Great Britain and Foreign Countries Postage Stamps (held in London yesterday, November 19) here's a quick look at a major highlight from its previous sale of British stamps on November 11-12.
Some of the greatest stamps in philatelic history have had designs which celebrate technology - like the iconic 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, aka the Inverted Jenny, for instance. Another 'technology' specimen, dated to 1966 was a star lot at Grosvenor's last auction...
While the Inverted Jenny celebrates the majesty of the bi-plane, this British design was issued to celebrate homegrown cars. Other stamps in the 1966 British technology series celebrated the hovercraft, satellite technology and nuclear power.
 Major rarity: the 1966 technology stamps, minus the missing E-Type Jaguar |
Featured in its design is Queen Elizabeth II's profile, alongside three quintessentially British automobiles, including the iconic Mini Cooper. There is one glaring omission, however: a larger-scale blue Jaguar E-Type which ought to be hovering about the Mini.
Sold in fine, unmounted and mint-quality quality condition (with some light folding down its vertical perforations) this block of four is today regarded as a major rarity.
In the end, it sold for £40,000 ($63,830 - including VAT and buyer's premium) amd was the star lot in Grosvenor's mid-November sale.
 The single used example sold by Grosvenor for £8,000; and (below) |
Elsewhere in the same auction, a used single stamp from the same series featuring the blue E-Type, yet missing the rest of the cars, also appeared.
Billed as "very rare" and bearing a cancellation stamped in the British town of Harlow, it sold for £8,000 ($12,766) - double its pre-sale estimate.
Watch this space for news on the results from Grosvenor's November 19 sale.
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