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21 Nov 2009, San Francisco and Los Angeles |
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24 Nov 2009, Knightsbridge |
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£5 Postage stamp from 1882 makes £15,000 world record price at Bonhams in Knightsbridge
A large orange stamp that cost £5 in 1882 used for posting heavy parcels to the furthest reaches of the British Empire set a new world record price for such a stamp at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on December 19 when it sold for £15,270.
This stamp, lot 326, was massively expensive in its day, being worth £1,000 in today’s money. It was often found on sets of accounting books that were posted around Britain or abroad. The stamp was expected to make a price of £7,000 or more at Bonhams latest Great Britain Stamp Sale. The previous world record price for this stamp stood at £7,500 until the Bonhams sale doubled that figure.
In all there were some 550 lots of postal history in this pre-Christmas sale, including the 1882 £5 Orange. Stamps like this, in mint condition, are very rare and this one is certainly in mint condition. Not many of these stamps bearing the profile of Queen Victoria were printed, in all a total of just 246,826 stamps of this value were made.
Graham Childs, Director of the Stamp Department at Bonhams, said of the record stamp: “This mint condition stamp is a superb example of the 1882 £5 Orange. It has made history after its 139-year lifespan, having gone beyond the £7,500 mark. You might say that it had stamped its mark on history.”
He adds: “Stamps are enjoying a very buoyant market, particularly so for British stamps. Year on year prices continue to rise.
Other sale highlights included:
Lot 122, a collection of railway stamps estimated to sell for £800-1000 made £7,200, and Lot 178, a mint penny black estimated at £5000-5500, made £9,500
For more information please contact Julian Roup on 0207 468 8259 or email press@bonhams.com
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is the world's oldest and largest auctioneer of fine art and antiques remaining with British ownership. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August 2003, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, joined the Bonhams Group of Companies. Today, Bonhams is the fastest growing auction house in the world, offering more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further eight throughout the UK. Sales are also held in Switzerland, Monaco, Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) and the USA (New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles). Bonhams also has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives offering sales advice and valuation services in 25 countries. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of more than 50 Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.
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