70 years since war declared: Rare WW2 stamps in £500,000 auction

• Thursday, 03 September 2009

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Pieces of rare original stamp artwork commemorating the end of the Second World War are among a complete 14 year official archive of stamps being auctioned.

The stamps were produced in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of VE Day. Lots in the auction include the original concept artwork and two printers proofs estimated at £750 each.

They are part of the official archive of rare stamp proofs produced by Gibraltar between 1995 and 2009.

The entire archive, valued at £495,000, is being sold in individual lots by the British company Universal Philatelic Auctions (UPA), on behalf of Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau Ltd (GPBL).

Collectors can request a free catalogue at www.stamparchiveauctions.com.

UPA’s Andrew McGavin said: “To celebrate VE Day in 1995 Gibraltar produced a magnificent miniature sheet depicting a Fairey Swordfish, Class 1 destroyer, Aircraft carrier, planes and other ships against a background of the Rock.

“Lot 43 is a real treasure estimated at £150. It is the original watercolour preliminary sketch by the designer, A. D. Theobald, depicting men from the three services and representative flags.

“These were dropped from the final design prior to proofing in favour of the focus upon the actual ships and planes and the Rock. It truly is unique and the only example of its kind.”

The auction also includes the only two examples of the final imperforate proof of the stamp, estimated at £750 each.

Proofs are the prototype of stamp designs produced by the security printer for client approval. Imperforate proofs haven’t been perforated.

That means they are extremely rare, with some worth up to tens of thousands of pounds each.

Official archives such as these are usually offered through major Swiss-type auction houses, which charge a significant premium to buyers.

But this archive is being sold by catalogue auction without extra premiums to individual collectors.

Universal Philatelic Auctions buys private collections and usually sells them in four 12,000+ lot catalogue auctions a year.

This is their first specialist £495,000 auction for a unique collection. An archive like this usually goes on sale just once in a generation.

The company has a unique reducing estimate model that automatically finds the market value of every stamp. If a lot isn’t sold it is automatically relisted in the next auction at a reduced price.

This continues until the correct price for the stamp is found by the market and it sells.

The special edition catalogue for the Gibraltar proofs is destined to become a collector’s reference in its own right. The first 4,000 copies of the catalogue are free to collectors.

The auction is scheduled to close on Tuesday 27th October 2009.

Collectors can request a free catalogue at www.stamparchiveauctions.com .

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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