We hold general stamp auctions, usually on the first Wednesday of each month. Each auction contains between £200,000 and £300,000 of world stamps and covers, single country ranges, specialised items, including proofs, topical ranges, accumulations and collections offered intact, in fact something for every collector and dealer. Additionally, specialised auctions of named collections are held periodically.

Public, all-world stamp auctions are usually held on the first Wednesday of each month. The dates of our 2010 sales are as follows: March 3rd, April 7th, May 5th, June 9th, July 7th, August 4th, September 1st, October 6th, November 3rd and December 1st.

Our next general public auction of Stamps will be held at the Court House, Warwick, on Wednesday the 3rd March, starting at 12 noon. To view the online catalogue, once it is uploaded and place bids on items in the sale click here. To download a catalogue (without illustrations) click here.

The sales take place at the Court House, Jury Street, Warwick, in the ballroom, which is on the first floor. The building has a lift. The entrance to the building is in Castle Street and the nearest car park is in New Street. The nearest railway station is Warwick Town and the nearest major international airport is Birmingham. For directions please visit our How to Find Us page.

Public viewing for all of our auctions is held at our own premises, the sales being too large to transport to the auction venue. Account settlement and lot allocation takes place progressively at our premises whilst the auction continues, so as soon as the section which interests you has been knocked down, you can pay and collect your lots without waiting for the end of the sale.

Public viewing for this sale is available at our offices on the following dates:

• Friday 26th February from 09.00 - 17.00
• Monday 1st March from 09.00 - 17.00
• Tuesday 2nd March from 09.00 - 17.00
• Wednesday 3rd March 08.00 onwards

There is no need to attend an auction in person, as commission bids can be placed in advance of the sale via our online facility, or by telephone, mail, fax or e-mail. For further details please visit our Online Catalogue.

If you would like to receive a free sample printed catalogue, or alternatively to apply for a catalogue subscription, please complete our catalogue enquiry form. However please remember that the printed catalogue contains far fewer illustrations of lots than the online catalogue.

Contemplating Selling?

Are you thinking of selling your entire collection or part of it? Would you like us to value it and give you advise on how best to market it? Visit our Marketing Your Collection page.

Gems from the Rachmanow Collection to be Offered on May 5th

Prior to the issue of the first stamp in the Kingdom of Poland the Russian postal authorities authorised a trial use in Warsaw of the St. Petersburg local Postal Stationery envelope. Although there were three sizes of the St. Petersburg envelope only those of the medium format are known to have been used in Warsaw. They are among the great rarities of Polish philately, only 8 having been recorded, of which the Rachmanow collection possesses 3.

Of the postal stationery envelopes issued for use in the Kingdom of Poland, by far the rarest was the Warsaw type 1 provisional red local envelope of 1859. Only 10 used examples have been recorded and the Rachmanow collection contains 2 of them.

Examples of the 10 Kopeck stationery envelope uprated with the first stamp of Poland are exceptional rarities and rightly take their place among the gems of Polish philately. M. A. Bojanowicz recorded just five examples, one of which has had the adhesive stamp removed by a postal clerk. The Rachmanow collection contains a double weight letter and an exquisite triple rate letter, being one of only two known, the other being ex the Bojanowicz collection.

Rachmanow formed a superb collection of Russian stamps used in the Kingdom of Poland. Amongst the many covers bearing the 1858 imperforate 10 Kop is one bearing a 4 large margined example, of exceptional colour, tied to an outer wrapper addressed to Warszawa by an oval firm’s cachet ‘J.W. PASTOR / IN / BIALYSTOK’, further tied by a light circular town mark in red. This usage may be unique.

A further cover of spectacular beauty is this one to Warszawa, the stamp with 4 large magins and neat manuscript “X” cancel. Alongside is the “MARYPOLE” Cyrillic datestamp in red.

The collection contains the only known cover bearing a Poland no.1 10 Kop block of four This cover is illustrated in the book published by Bojanovicz in 1979. It is without doubt one of the top rarities of Polish philately.

It is thought that the general rule, or practice, was that post offices removed the outer margins from sheets of stamps prior to sale. This is evidenced by the extraordinarily few examples of marginal stamps that have been recorded. Some larger users of stamps, such as business houses, may have been sold complete sheets with the sheet margins still attached. Stamps with sheet margins are rare, unused or used, and can prove to be valuable plating guides. The collection contains a 10 Kop vertical corner margin pair, with brilliant, rich colours, tied to a wrapper addressed to Warszawa by Mariampol ‘23’ concentric circle cancellations and circular red ‘KALWARJA’ town mark. This is likely to be the finest cover with a marginal franking in private ownership. This cover is described in Bojanowicz and illustrated on plate 16 – but with the erroneous comment that the cover is housed in the Polish Postal Museum.

The Wladimir Rachmanow Catalogue

The collection is to be offered after the general philatelic sale on Wednesday May 5th 2010 and printed copies of the fully illustrated catalogue will be sent to subscribers together with the general catalogue. The complete catalogue, with scans of every lot will be uploaded to the website approximately 3 weeks before the sale.

GB George VI Cylinder Blocks in demand

Warwick and Warwick’s February 3rd auction contained a specialised collection of Edward VIII and George VI GB cylinder blocks, which was offered in two lots, each bearing an estimate of £1,000. There was enormous interest in these collections with the final result being a massive realisation of £4,600 each.

The principal item in the G.B. line engraved section was an attractive unused vertical strip of 5 of the 1840 1d black from plate 4. It had original gum and 3 stamps appeared to be unmounted. Margins varied but the overall appearance was attractive. It was estimated at £10,000 and realised £12,075.

Malta is one of the best collected areas in the British Commonwealth and the sale contained an excellent collection broken down into its constituent parts. Perhaps the most interesting section was a collection of 44 items of postal history, containing entires from the 18th and 19th centuries, including the scarce “MARSEILLE / DE MALTHE” and an 1855 unstamped cover to Malta bearing the manuscript marking “Officer letter from Crimea”. This collection was estimated at £2,200 and realised £2,070. From the same collection a study of 115 KGV to early QEII flight covers with an estimate of £1,200 realised £1,120 and a collection of 54 postage due covers, estimated at £120 make £299. A collection of 144 Maltese village postmarks, mainly on adhesives, which was estimated at £600, made £552.

A collection of Boer War letters and postcards sold at a figure in excess of estimate. What added to the attraction of this collection was a correspondence between an army captain and his family. At one stage he was taken prisoner and had to complete a claim form for indemnification against the cost of replacing his captured equipment. The estimate was £2,500 and the realisation was £3,105.

Rare Hong Kong Treaty Port Cancels find a Ready Market

The Warwick and Warwick January 13th sale contained a fine section of Hong Kong stamps and covers. Perhaps the rarest stamp on offer was the 1874 – 1902 P.14 $10 grey-green postal fiscal M. Despite a crease and other faults, it still managed to realise £2,242. Another rare postal fiscal on offer was the 1897 P 15½ $1 on olive green, with the scarce variety “both Chinese characters omitted”, F.U. Catalogued at ££2,750, it realised £2,128.

Included in the Hong Kong section was a range of rare Treaty Port cancels on Honk Kong adhesives. The highest result was the £661 paid for the very rare “checker board” rhomboid of Bangkok on a 1863-71 12c blue. This cancel remained unrecorded in Webb’s book, but a cover was sold in the Ishikawa sale, in 1980. Another rare cancel, which was also duplicated by a similar example in the Ishikawa sale was the Anping A c.d.s. in black. This particular strike was accompanied by a partial Moncrieff Wright firm’s chop on a 1882-91 5c blue. Estimated at £350, it realised £529. The “D28” cancel of Kiungchow, almost complete, on a 1880 5c blue, made £241. The rare “2H62” barred oval cancel is an enigma and no-one is sure where it was applied. An almost complete strike on a 1882 10c mauve made £374. The remainder of this superb collection was broken into 3 lots with estimates of £1,200, £400 and £200. They realised £3,910, £1,265 and £805 respectively.

Gambia was strong in the sale and a specialised collection was broken down into several lots, all of which sold at figures above estimate. A collection of 50 Q.V. to K.G.V covers, estimated at £1,800, made £2,070 and a K.G. V and K.G.VI specialised collection, with a £1,500 estimate made £1,840. A collection of about 170 cancellations on stamps, estimated at £300 attracted competitive bidding which eventually stopped at £414.

In the foreign offerings an item from China stood out. This was a 1949 airmail unit stamp of West Szechwan $10,000 on 30c red, with watermark, in a block of 25 (5 x 5), with original gum. This rare multiple was estimated at £3,000 and sold for £3,680.

China makes Full Catalogue

The strength of the market for modern China was demonstrated in our December 2nd auction, when a 1979 Study of Science from Childhood miniature sheet U.M. (SG MS2900), catalogued £700, realised £600. When the 15% buyer’s premium is added, this makes a total realisation of £690, just short of the full catalogue value.

Other good results were as follows:

• Ascension 1938-53 2d black and scarlet with “mountaineer” flaw F.U. (SG 41ca), catalogued £250, realised £165;
• Australia 1913-14 £1 brown and ultramarine F.U. (SG 15), catalogued £1,900, realised £718;
• Bechuanaland 1961 1r on 10/- type 1 U.M. (SG167), catalogued £400, realised £195;
• Cyprus 1928 £5 black/yellow U.M. (SG 117a), catalogued £3,000, realised £2,415;

Samoa 1914 GRI 3/- on 3m M. (SG113), catalogued £1,400, realised £977.

Malta paquebot covers are always in demand and lot 338 was an 1898 cover, franked with a 1d and 4d adhesive, tied by the “anchor in diamond of spots” red cancellation of the Royal Hungarian Steam Navigation Co. (Adria). The cover was addressed to Fiume and bore the handstamp “Via Venise / Par V. Szechenyi.” Estimated at £250, it realised £230.

The Great Britain section saw impressive results for high values:

• 1840 2d deep full blue, plate 1, with 4 good to large margins, F.U. with red M.C., catalogued £900, realised £241;
• 1867-83 10/- wmk. M.C. F.U. (SG 128), catalogued £2,800, realised £862;
• 1867-83 £1 wmk. M.C. F.U. (SG 129), catalogued £4,000, realised £1,495;
• 1867-83 £5 wmk. anchor F.U. (SG 137), catalogued £4,500, realised £2,127;

• 1913 Waterlow £1 green fine M. (SG 403), catalogued £2,800, realised £1,150.

An impressive block of 19 1841 1d reds, from the right side of a sheet from plate 61, had a part marginal insciption “In Wetting the Back be careful”. Despite several faults, it realised £2,127.

Perfection Counts!

As in other collecting areas, stamps realise high prices when they are in dramatically good condition. The November 2009 auction featured a relatively common stamp, the Great Britain 1913 Waterlow 2/6d sepia-brown Seahorse, used. However this particular example had what the Americans call “mathematical” centring and a centrally located circular date stamp of Guernsey. The stamp is catalogued at £160 and it was estimated at £40, but because of the lovely condition, bidding did not stop until someone in the room paid £160, which made a purchase price of £184 when the buyer’s premium is added on.

A further G.B. George V stamp which fared well was the 1924-6 9d with watermark inverted, U.M., estimated at £40, which realised £63.

The best result amongst the G.B. Victorian singles was the £1,840 paid for a superb used copy of the 1867-83 £5 orange, quality again speaking volumes.

The Sky’s the Limit for Signed R.A.F Flown Covers

The largest realisations compared with pre-sale estimates in the Warwick and Warwick October 7th sale occurred in the Thematics section, where several lots of signed and flown Royal Air Force covers were on offer. The largest collection contained between 1,500 and 2,000 covers, the majority flown between 1970 and 2003 and the majority signed. Signatures included Leonard Cheshire, Johnnie Johnson and Douglas Bader. Cautiously estimated at £400, it made £6,900 when finally the hammer fell. A further collection of about 600 signed covers, flown between 1969 and the 1980s, including the signatures of Barnes Wallis, Arthur Harris and Brian Trubshaw, was estimated at £300 and made £3,105.

A Great Britain 1965 Battle of Britain illustrated first day cover, signed by 50 pilots (presumably having taken part in the Battle of Britain), was lotted as a single item with an estimate of £50. The final realisation was £241.

A fine collection of Polish Municipal Posts was on offer, estimated at £400. It contained about 500 stamps and 27 covers or cards and included a collection of Warsaw which had won a bronze-silver medal at Stampex 1973. This attractive collection of rarely offered material was appreciated by the specialists and realised the outstanding figure of £3,105.

Great Britain modern material on offer included a collection of first day covers, contained in 9 binders, all with Buckingham Palace cancels. The many royalty-related issues helped to push the realisation to £1,725, from the £900 estimate. Additionally several covers with Buckingham Palace cancels were itemised and the best prices realised were £57 for 1973 Royal Wedding, £75 for 1978 Coronation Anniversary and £63 for 1987 Victorian Britain.

In the Channel Islands section, a Guernsey 1941-4 2½d ultramarine pair, imperf between, unmounted mint, realised £460.

Commonwealth and British Errors Popular

The Warwick and Warwick September 2nd auction contained an extensive range of popular Great Britain and British Commonwealth errors, with many examples of major missing colour varieties. The following results were recorded:

• Basutoland 1961 2c on 2d surcharge inverted U.M. (SG 60a), cat. £140, realised £153.
• Cayman Is. 1967 Tourist Year 4d gold omitted F.U. (SG 205a), cat. £275, realised £109.
• Cayman Is. 1969 Christmas ¼ c gold (frame) omitted U.M. (SG 255a), cat. £200, realised £172.
• Jamaica 1968 Human Rights 3d gold (flame) omitted U.M. (SG 272a), cat. £120, realised £150.

• Malaya 1965 Birds 30c blue (plumage) omitted U.M. (SG 21a), cat. £200, realised £380.
• Malta 1965-70 1/6d black (Queen’s head) omitted (SG 342a), cat. £250, realised £287.
• Mauritius 1965 Birds 1r pale orange omitted U.M. (SG328a), cat. £190, realised £218.
• Mauritius 1975-7 20c Crab grey (background) omitted U.M. (SG 480a), cat. £200, realised £173.

• New Zealand 1966 Christmas 3d red omitted U.M. (SG 842a), cat. £325, realised £333.
• New Zealand 1970 Christmas 3c green (inscription and value) omitted U.M. (SG 944a), cat. £250, realised £264.
• New Zealand 1973-6 4c Moth apple green (wings) omitted U.M. (SG 1011f), cat. £225, realised £109.
• St Kitts Nevis 1963-9 2c showing white fountain and church U.M. (SG 131a), cat. £110, realised £161.

In the Great Britain section, the following missing colours realised the following amounts:

• 1961 P.O.S.B. Timson 3d orange-brown omitted U.M. (SG 624Aa), cat. £550, realised £241.

• 1961 Parliament 6d gold omitted U.M. (SG 629a), cat £2,000, realised £1,265.

• 1965 Post Office Tower ordinary 3d olive-yellow (tower) omitted U.M. (SG 679a), cat. £4,250, realised £3,450.
• 1966 Birds ordinary 4d se-tenant block of 4 red omitted M. (SG 696e-9e), cat. £2,200, realised £632.
• 1969 Concorde 4d yellow-olive and phosphor omitted U.M. (SG 784Eya), cat. £550, realised £391.
• 1971 Literary 5p gold (Queen’s head) omitted U.M. (SG 885a), cat. £1,100, realised £460.

• 1973 Explorers 3p Livingstone turquoise-blue omitted U.M. (SG 923c), cat. £1,500, realised £775.
• 1973 Explorers 9p brown-red (rivers on map) omitted U.M. (SG 927d), cat. £1,250, realised £506.
• 1979 Rowland Hill miniature sheet pale greenish yellow omitted U.M. (SG MS1099g), cat. £850, realised £356.

Other G.B. errors represented included the following:

• 1964 Forth Road Bridge 6d with black printed double (SG 660 var), one of twelve known, realised £287.
• Jersey 1995 Butterfly miniature sheet showing imperforate 41p value U.M. (SG 722a), realised £483.

Isle of Man Postal History sells well.

The August 5th Warwick and Warwick auction contained interesting ranges of Isle of Man postal history. Lot 595 was a collection of 23 items of postal history, dating from 1789 to the first decade of the 20th century, including pre-stamp 2 line handstamps, straight line handstamps and circular types. The estimate of £750 was soundly topped by a realisation of £1,207.

There were 2 lots on offer of internment mail from the camps established on the Isle of Man during the fist and second world wars. Many of the strikes in the collection were either unrecorded or one of very few known. There is still much research to be done in this neglected field. The two ranges contained a total of 117 items and were estimated in total at £2,250. The rarity of the contents was certainly appreciated by the keen bidders, who pushed the total realisation to £6,095. There is an article on this fascinating collection in the Articles Library.

The final collection of Isle of Man covers on offer was a specialised collection of 1951 British European Airways flown covers, bearing semi-official air letter stamps, including rare provisionals. The 27 covers were estimated at £1,000 and realised £1,437.

The final lot in the auction was a collection of G.B. locals, contained in 11 binders, with issues from the smaller Channel Islands and the Calf of Man, etc. Although almost exclusively Queen Elizabeth issues, many rare items were included, such as missing colour errors. The estimate for the collection was a modest £500, which was dramatically exceeded by a realisation of £3,795, after dramatic competition in the room.

Partially Imperforate Sheet sells for £2,875

The July 1st sale contained a complete sheet of the G.B. 1998 Christmas 30p commemorative stamp, which was partially imperforate, providing 35 completely imperforate horizontal pairs and 14 further stamps partly perforated. It is believed that this is the first time this error has been recorded. A dealer secured the sheet with a bid of £2,875.

Other results from the sale were as follows:

1948 Royal Silver Wedding Commonwealth omnibus, complete U.M., estimated £800, realised £1,064.
Aden 1937 Dhows set U.M., estimated £300, realised £356.

Bahamas 1902-10 1/- imperf colour trial, in pale purple and red, on gummed, watermarked paper, estimated £200, realised £322.
Cyprus 1882-6 die I 6 pi olive-grey, with variety “top left triangle detached” o.g., estimated £700, realised £661.

South Africa, Griqualand West 1877 “GW” overprint in red on 4d dull blue, watermark inverted, fine M., estimated £350, realised £690.

Rare “Double” Mulready realises £3,910

One of the most interesting items in the June 10th Warwick and Warwick sale was an “envelope” formed by pasting together 2 2d Mulready lettersheets and posting it, with the addition of a pair of 1841 2d blues, in 1846.The cover was endorsed, on the left Mulready “over 3oz” and “more to pay 4d”, indicating that the franking value of the 2nd Mulready was disallowed by the postal authorities. This is a most unusual and very rare and late usage of the Mulready lettersheet. The auction estimate was £2,500 and the final realisation was £3,910, including the buyer’s premium.

A collection of 140 Concorde covers, signed and flown between 2001 and 2003, was estimated at £500 and realised an astronomical £1,265 and a collection of 400 2001-4 military covers, being signed limited edition items, estimated at £300, realised a staggering £1,725.

Other items of interest in this general world auction were as follows:

• Australia 1915-18 £2 grey and crimson, with “broken ear” variety, M., cat, £3,00, estimated £1,200, realised £1,496.
• K.U.T. 1938-54 1c half sheet of 50 (qty. 50 half sheets), including 50 U.M. copies of the position 15 variety “break in bird’s breast”, estimated £250, realised £891.
• New Guinea 2 1919 OHMS covers, from Rabaul to Berkshire, estimated at £100, realised £265.
• France 1917-19 War Orphans set, M., cat. £2,000, estimated £600, realised £661.
• German Colonies Kiaochow 1905 1½d violet black, marg. U.M., estimated £600, realised £632.
• U.S.A. 1917-20 $5 deep green and black, corner marg. U.M., cat. $425, estimated £120, realised £207.
• U.S.A. 1926 N.Y. Phil. Exhibition sheetlet of 25 U.M., cat. £425, estimated £180, realised £207.
• G.B. 1924-6 10d watermark inverted U.M., cat. £3,500, estimated £1,000, realised £1,840.

Inverted Jenny takes off at Warwick!

The U.S.A. 1918 24c airmail with inverted centre, the iconic “inverted Jenny”, certainly got airborne at Warwick, on March 4th 2009, when Warwick and Warwick sold a mint copy, with a tiny paper thin, for a hammer price of £160,000 plus the buyer’s premium of £24,000, making a total realisation of £184,000. It was the first time this famous stamp had been offered in this country in over 50 years and the most expensive stamp ever auctioned by Warwick and Warwick. Auctioneer Colin Such stated that it was an honour and a privilege to offer such an iconic philatelic item and he was pleased with the outcome. He was particularly surprised by the fact that there were no less than six bidders contesting to secure the stamp, three present in the room and three on telephones, including two from U.S.A. The successful bidder was a British collector who was present in the room.

The “Jenny” was part of the “Excelsior” single vendor sale and other highlights were as follows:

• British Guiana 1898 Jubilee 2c brown and indigo corner marginal, imperf. at right and between stamp and margin, M., with vertical crease. BPA cert (2009), estmated £150, realised £1,725.
• Canada 1852-7 handmade paper 7½d unused, close to good margins, with RPS cert (1974), stating “creased”, which was difficult to see. (SG 12), cat. £9,000, estimated £800, realised £1,782.
• Canada 1859 10c black-brown, unused (SG 33), cat. £9,500, estimated £800, realised £1,552.
• Cape of Good Hope 1861 Woodblock 1d pale milky blue error of colour, U, with 2 margins, possibly repaired (SG 13c), cat. £28,000, estimated £2,000, realised £3,795.
• Cape of Good Hope 1861 Woodblock 4d vermilion error of colour, U, with Diena cert (1974), stating defective and repaired (SG 14e), cat. £40,000, estimated £2,500, realised £5,290.

• Cape of Good Hope 1863-4 1/- bright emerald green o.g. block of 8, with sheet margin at right, small to large margins (SG 21), estimated £450, realised £1,782.

• Newfoundland 1857-64 1/- part o.g., very close to small margins, vivid colour, with BPA cert (2009) (SG 9), cat. £18,000, estimated £2,500, realised £4,255.
• Newfoundland 1862-4 1/- bisected and tied to small piece (SG 23a), estimated £500, realised £1,610.
• U.S.A. 1851-7 10c unused block of 9, rows 1 and 3 being type ii and row 2 being type iii, with faults, incl. creases, BPA cert (2009) (Scott 14 – 15), estimated £800, realised £2,990.

• U.S.A. 1893 Columbus 4c deep blue o.g., light overall gum toning, with P.F.cert (1976) stating “minute pin hole top left” (Scott 233a), cat. $19,000, estimated £2,500, realised £6,900.
• U.S.A 1898 Omaha $1 top marginal imprint block of 4, part o.g., tiny corner repair, some separated perfs (Scott 292), cat. $5,750, estimated £500, realised £1,380.

• U.S.A 1901 Buffalo 1c with centre inverted error, o.g., with P.F. cert (1971) (Scott 294a), cat. $11,000, estimated £2,000, realised £2,875.
• U.S.A. Newspaper Stamps 1879 $60 U.M. horizontal pair, with BPA cert (2009) (Scott PR79), cat. $1,700+, estimated £400, realised £949.

Double Head Covers sell for many times Estimate

The collection of Rhodesian Double Head covers formed by the late Norman Levin was offered by Warwick and Warwick as part of their general philatelic sale, on February 4th 2009. Just how scarce such covers are was well demonstrated by the realisations, many exceeding the pre-sale estimate by several times. During the sale 3 telephone lines were constantly in use by bidders in U.S.A. as well as inland and many bids were recorded from specialists resident in South Africa.

The cover achieving the highest realisation was the 1919 4d registered envelope, addressed to Germany, franked with a perf. 14 3d and the rare 5d purple-brown and ochre error of colour, ex the Robert Gibbs collection. Regarded by many collectors as the most desirable Double Head cover in existence, it achieved the impressive final realisation of £10,062, or 4 times estimate.

The 5d Double Head is particularly rare on cover and lot 406 was a 1912 registered envelope to England, franked with the perf. 14 5d, with the “gash in Queen’s ear” variety. This cover was franked with the correct rate of postage and appeared commercial and very atractive. Estimated at £300, it made £2,530, or more than 8 times estimate.

A further attractive registered cover had been sent from Shamva to the rare destination of Rehoboth in German South-West Africa. It was franked with a 1898-1908 4d and a Double Head perf. 14 5d. The estimate of £200 appeared conservative when compared with the realisation of £1,840.

The 6d Double Head is also rare on cover and a cover to U.S.A., franked with a perf. 14 2½d and 6d, estimated at £250, achieved £3,105, or over 12 times estimate!

A 1913 envelope to Edinburgh was franked with the perf. 14 1d and 8d and was most attractive. The 8d is rarely seen on cover and in combination with the 1d value is constituted a rare and desirable item. The estimate of £300 was exceeded by the magnificent realisation of £3,680! Again over 12 times estimate!

Obviously the 7/6d value would not have been used commercially on a small envelope and it is believed that only 2 such covers exist. That in the Levin collection was addressed to London. Estimated at £1,500, it realised £4,255.

Of the lower denomination Double Heads on cover, a 1911 envelope to Cape Province was described as being of “exhibition quality”, being neatly addressed and franked with the perf. 14 2d, correctly pre-paying the rate to South Africa. Its attractive appearance meant a realisation of over 7 times estimate, at £1,552.