Siegel International offers Colombia air post

By Michael Baadke

Robert A. Siegel International, in association with Charles F. Shreve, will present a series of three auctions Nov. 14-16 that includes two specialized air post collections and a catalog of worldwide stamps and postal history.

“The early Colombian Air Post stamps and the flight covers on which they were used are among the most ‘classic’ and beautiful of any worldwide air post issues,” Siegel notes.

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The Barry P. Fletcher collection of Colombian air post issues 1919-23 brings together many of the rarest pieces from this collecting specialty, including a unique cover bearing the unsurcharged 1920 10¢ SCADTA Condor on Cliff stamp, a variation of Scott C8.

The stamp is found on the reverse of a cover to Barranquilla, tied by a violet Cartagena oval handstamp. It is used along with National 1-centavo and 2c stamps tied on the cover front by a Feb. 22, 1920, double-circle datestamp.

The item is signed Charlat and Bloch and comes with a 2016 Brian Moorhouse certificate. It is listed with an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000.

Another air post rarity from just four years later is found among the offerings from the Paul M. Cere collection of semi-Official air posts of Canada.

The 1924 nondenominated ($1) black on red Estevan-Winnipeg air post semi-Official pane of two with the inscriptions inverted (Scott CLP5g) is tied on cover with an oval violet Oct. 1, 1924, flight datestamp, as are the accompanying three 1¢ yellow King George V stamps (105).

It is the only recorded example of a cover bearing the complete pane of two with inverted inscriptions. The cover is listed with the Unitrade catalog value of $8,000 in Canadian dollars (roughly equivalent to US$6,310).

The third catalog in this series offers well over 1,000 lots consisting of stamps, covers and collections, including a significant number of British Commonwealth items.

Among these is an example of the 1856 British Guiana 4¢ rose carmine stamp (Scott 14a) with a Demerara circular datestamp and the E.D.W. initials of Postmaster Wight.

The stamp is described by Siegel as having an “unobtrusive light horizontal crease at top where it was affixed at the edge of an envelope,” but also “fresh paper color without the cracks and rubs that nearly always affect this stamp.”

The used color variety is listed in the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 with a value of $40,000 in italics, denoting an item that is difficult to value accurately.

The catalogs for these auctions can be viewed online with a PDF version also available for downloading or viewing.

Online bidding options are available on the Siegel website.

Additional information is available from Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 6 W. 48th St., Ninth Floor, New York, NY 10036.