A look at the Oct. 15-19 Christoph Gaertner auction

By Michael Baadke

The Christoph Gaertner firm in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, will hold its autumn auction of worldwide stamps, postal history and collections Oct. 15-19.

The full auction in nine catalogs, including dedicated listings for Italy, Asia, Germany and more, can be viewed online under the link for “Current Auction.”

This sale from the German auction house features an expanded selection of United States material numbering nearly 300 lots, including a handsome used multiple of one of the first U.S. stamps.

The 1847 10¢ black George Washington (Scott 2) is offered in a strip of four on piece. Multiples of the 10¢ stamp are uncommon, and this example is nicely struck with a red grid cancel.

Gaertner describes the strip as having “full to wide margins on all sides including adjoining frameline at bottom right,” and “marvelous intense shade and impression.”

While there is no listing for a strip of four in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers, a used strip of three of the 10¢ black is valued at $10,000, and a used block of four has a $75,000 value. Both figures are italicized, indicating an item that can be difficult to value accurately.

Gaertner is opening the bidding on the four-stamp strip at €2,000, roughly equivalent to $2,350 in late September.

Various proofs of classic U.S. stamps are being offered in this sale, along with a back-of-the-book selection that includes Official stamps and newspaper stamps.

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The Germany and German areas material includes a mint (“postfrisch”) example of the rare Saar 1920 20-mark brown King Ludwig III stamp.

Originally issued for use in Bavaria (Bayern), the Bayern name is obliterated by an overprint of four horizontal lines, and the name “SARRE” is printed over the king’s portrait.

The stamp is not listed in the Scott catalog, but is described after Saar Scott 39.

The stamp on offer is a lower right margin example with an additional “SAARE” overprint in the lower margin.

Gaertner is opening the bidding on this stamp at €160,000 (about $188,000).

For additional information about the upcoming Gaertner auction, contact Auktionshaus Christoph Gaertner, Steinbeisstrasse 6+8, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.