Rare colonial B.C. stamps come home for auction
Credit to Author: John Mackie| Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 01:32:19 +0000
In the early 1860s, a young man wrote to postmasters around the world, enclosing money for sheets of stamps to be sent to his home in Mayfair in London. So they did.
The stamps were forgotten after his death, but were rediscovered in 1925. Collectors went mad, buying stamps that had a face value of 30 pounds in the 1860s for 10,000 pounds in 1925.
Among the most sought-after items was the first stamp issued in British Columbia. Oops, make that British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island, because that was what was on the two-pence stamp, which has a rose colour.
Ninety-five years after their rediscovery, eight of the “Mayfair find” stamps have come home to B.C. in the Feb. 29 All Nations Stamp and Coin auction.
This particular group of stamps may have never been here before — they were printed in London, and are currently owned by an American. Their rarity, and quirks, makes them desirable for stamp collectors all over the world.
The stamp is for British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island because the B.C. mainland and Vancouver Island were two separate colonies in 1860. Their lack of importance in Britain at the time may be why no one noticed it was called Vancouver Island, not Vancouver’s Island.
The geographic names appear on the top and bottom of an image of a youthful Queen Victoria. Alas, part of “British” was cut off when they perforated the stamps.
“They didn’t leave wide enough margins in the stamps in those days for separations,” explains Brian Grant Duff of All Nations Stamp and Coin. “And they didn’t try too hard to print them carefully, they were just banging them out for use in the far-flung colony.”
Nonetheless they’re quite beautiful, and pricey — their pre-auction estimate is $6,200.
This is the 1,250th All Nations weekly auction, so Grant Duff has lined up several rare items, including a Christmas, 1902, letter from the legendary poet Pauline Johnson.
“There’s not much Pauline Johnson stuff available,” said Grant Duff. “I understand her sister burned all her correspondence when she died, so stuff is scarce. This letter is previously unknown and unpublished, it’s been in the family (it was sent to) for years.”
It had an estimate of $150, but online bidding has already reached $275.
Lot 110 is a Pauline Johnson letter from the Clarendon Hotel in Winnipeg in Christmas, 1892.
There are some marvellously quirky items in the sale, including two postal covers (letters) dating to the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rush.
Both covers bear a Wells Fargo logo. One is addressed to San Francisco, is dated 1858, and has a seal in the upper left reading “Customs Vancouver’s Island.”
“That was actually used as a postal franking, which was use in place of a stamp to show the postage was paid,” explains Grant Duff. “Only 13 covers like that exist.”
The second cover is undated, but is cool because it features a mix of Vancouver Island and American stamps.
“They’re paying the postage to the border of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, then through the United States to the United Kingdom,” said Grant Duff.
“U.S. stamps were sold in the post offices in Victoria and New Westminster so that they could pre-pay the postage for the U.S. Because B.C. was essentially land-locked … you were forced to use the U.S. postal system before there was a national railway (in Canada).”
The Vancouver’s Island seal cover is in rough shape, but still has an estimate of $250. The mixed stamp cover is estimated at $2,000, because it includes a popular “two cent jack,” a stamp of former American President Andrew Jackson.
The Canadiana continues with stamps from pre-Confederation Canada, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. There is also a “Halifax treasury voucher” from 1797 signed by Prince Edward, namesake for Prince Edward Island. He was also Queen Victoria’s father, and the estimate is $250.
A $5 Macdonald and Co. banknote.
The auction also includes some rare currency, including a $5 bill from the Macdonald and Company bank in Victoria, which went out of business in 1864 when somebody absconded with all its assets. Its in rough shape as well, hence is estimated at only $200.
Few people know it, but Canada issued a $25 bill in 1935 to commemorate the silver or 25th anniversary of King George V’s reign. About 1,840 of the 160,000 notes that were printed are still believed to be in private hands (or lost), which makes it quite valuable: Duff has estimated it at $2,000.
The online auction concludes Saturday and can be viewed at www.allnationsstampandcoin.com/auction-this-week/
jmackie@postmedia.com
An 1858 cover letter to San Francisco is one of only 13 with a Vancouver’s Island seal, which is known as a frank.
A second cover letter has both Vancouver Island and American stamps. It’s undated, but must be before 1871, because that’s when B.C. entered Confederation.
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