Who needs the American kooky "numerical grading" fading fad system, when large USA auction houses bypass it totally when it suits, and cheerfully make up their own wacky and nonsensical system to sell rare stamps, and give them absurd and Total Fantasy centering descriptors! 

Take a look at this rather ordinary stamp nearby.  It was recently invoiced for $US41,300 - about $A55,000 at the time.  It is the 1923, 1¢ green Washington-Franklin rotary-press issue, perf 11 - Scott 544.  A scarce stamp, no doubt at all on that, but it surely does not mean Auctions can blithely INVENT condition and centering terms for it that are nonsense???

The 1856 British Guiana 1¢ Black on Magenta is UNIQUE, and worth ~$10 million, but the auctions never call that stamp "superb" or "immaculate" as it quite simply is not - makes no difference whatever to the price.  Scarce is scarce . "It is what it is".  The British Guiana stamp is in truly terrible condition – but is unique.  Everyone accepts that.

This USA 1¢ green shown nearby was offered September 29 by Kelleher Auctions, based in Danbury Connecticut - literally "The Oldest Philatelic Auction House in the United States, established in 1885."  Kellehers do not need the PSE or anyone to tell them it is an ugly looking stamp - instead they just invent their own grading terms - this dog suddenly has "FANTASTIC CENTERING" according to them -

"An impressive well margined example with fantastic centering"

What?  No mention whatever in their description of the 2 or 3 "nibbled" or pulled/torn perfs at base - it is "well margined and fantastic centred" after all.  Kellehers did however say this stamp is "in immaculate mint condition".  Nibbled/torn perfs and "immaculate" do not gel, and should not be used on such a stamp - they are a contradiction in terms. It is clearly NOT in "immaculate condition".

Here is that same stamp item, shown at real stamp size - does any reader here concur it has "FANTASTIC CENTERING"?  What utter nonsense.  However Kelleher Auctions fooled someone it seems - it was invoiced for $US41,300 - about $A55,000.

So who needs numerical grading to sell American high price stamps?  Not a PSE "Numerical Grading Certificate" in sight for this average looker stamp.  Just make it up as you please, and things can STILL sell for WAY more than Scott value - which is 'only' $US35,000 for this stamp, Scott #544!  “Only In America.”

It does illustrate that common looking stamps facially can be worth serious money IF you source catalogues - and can read them.  This exact design stamp is NORMALLY a few cents retail, mint or used.  Gazillions were printed of them, and every kid’s collection ever formed has one in there. So they all google it, see this one got $A55,000, and start bugging dealers!

WHY is this one worth $A55,000, and the one in every kid’s album globally, worth only 10¢?  “Linn’s Stamp News” offered this explanation.  In the 1910s, in order to print stamps more efficiently, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing switched from flat plate to rotary presses, allowing stamps to be printed in continuous rolls.

The printing plates for the rotary press were curved around a large cylinder, resulting in a printed image that was slightly stretched either horizontally or vertically, depending on which way the plates were oriented. This means that rotary-press stamps are about half a millimetre taller or wider than similar flat-plate stamps.  A truly TINY size difference, but measurable.

As part of an effort to economise, in the early 1920s the BEP salvaged otherwise wasted parts of rotary-printed stamp sheets, and converted them into usable sheets for issuing and sale to the public. These printings are known to collectors as either “sheet waste” or “coil waste”, depending on their original intended purpose.

What distinguishes the salvaged waste from other rotary press stamps printed at the time, is their perforations. Instead of coil-type perfs in one direction only, the waste stamps were perforated all around, either gauge 11 (like earlier flat-plate printings) or 11 by 10, or 10 by 11.  Many of these salvaged waste stamps are very scarce.  In the case of this 1¢ green Washington-Franklin rotary-press perf 11 (Scott 544), fewer than 20 are recorded to have survived unused.

The Auction description says in part:  Bearing the two finest examples of the “Post Office” One Penny issue, this cover realised the highest price ever for a philatelic item in 1968 (Dale Lichtenstein auction) and can be considered to be on a par with the British Guiana One Cent, which was recently sold by Sotheby’s for $US9.5 million.

1d Deep Orange, two singles, datelined Port Louis, January 1, 1850, on entire letter addressed to “Thos. Jerrom Esq., Secretary to the Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society, The Esplanade, Bombay”, cancelled by twelve-bar handstamp, in circular format and the right stamp additionally by handstruck “2” in circle; showing “MAURITIUS/G.P.O” crowned circle d.s. (Jan. 4, 1850) adjacent.

The stamps are of contrasting shades and impressions - the right stamp very sharp and the left a little heavier - indicative of the primitive printing methods of single impression from a copper plate on a hand press. Both stamps are of a brilliant colour and fresh, with unusually large margins all round.

The cover has a small cut at right below “Society” in the address panel, and has also been reinforced at the joins. The entire letter comprises a double letter sheet written by the Reverend Langrishe Banks on 1 January 1850.

Surprisingly, the contents of the letter, which concern the acknowledgement of receipt of a box of Scriptures (Bibles), were not known, until the Weill Brothers dealers in the USA allowed the letter to be opened up in 1976.

It will be interesting in a few days, to see what figure the cover obtains. The same auction house is also offering the original copper printing plates for the “Post Office” Mauritius pair of stamps on the same day, also for a several million estimate, which seems high to me.  I saw them on display at “World Stamp Expo” New York in June, and whether non stamps can ever get to 7 figures, we shall all soon know.

This printing plate has done a bit of a “roadshow” in the past two years, being on display by Feldman at “Europhilex” in London in May 2015,  Singapore World Stamp Exhibition in August 2015, and “Monacophil” in December 2015.  And then most recently at the big show in New York in mid-2016.

The 1847 Mauritius “POST OFFICE” stamps were the first colonial stamp issues of the British Empire, and rank among the world’s greatest and most sought-after rarities. 1,000 stamps were printed (500 each of 1d and 2d) but only 27 examples are known to have survived of the 2 values combined. Near all of those are used, or on cover.

The printing plate disappeared from view for many years, and was rediscovered in 1912, when it was described by Alexander J. Sefi in 1912 as: “the Greatest Philatelic Treasure existing”.  Sefi was the legendary dealer, prolific philatelic writer, and specialised collector of this era.  He was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1933.

The Mauritius printing plate was then acquired by the also legendary European collector  Maurice Burrus around 1930, and was last displayed at the 1935 Silver Jubilee exhibition, of the Royal Philatelic Society in London.  It then disappeared from view, and for many decades it was feared that it had been lost.

However, following the death of Odile Burrus, the niece of Maurice, the plate was re-discovered by the Burrus family, and has since been with David Feldman of Geneva Switzerland, so that it could once again be displayed in public, as it has been for the past 2 years.  Now it is set for auction, soon after you read this article.

I was fortunate to visit the impressive “Blue Penny” Museum in Port Louis, Mauritius a year or so back, on our way to mysterious Madagascar. That Museum has a slightly faulty mint example of each stamp, both bought in 1993 by a consortium of Mauritius business interests, for well over $US2 million the pair. Huge money then.  Only 2 mint of the 1d exist globally, one of which is in private hands, and has not been seen for decades.

Even The Royal Collection does not have them -  so the only place on earth to see the pair mint is in Mauritius.  As it is not a country remotely on the global tourist trial, so clearly well worth a visit!  They had all kinds of cool souvenirs of that pair I bought back, fridge magnets, locally embroidered handtowels and “Post Paid” handmade perfumed soap etc, if anyone collects that stuff!  - tinyurl.com/1dPostPaid

Renniks Australia publishes each year or so, a very useful and feature packed stamp catalogue that suits the needs of large numbers of collectors.  Now in its 15^th Edition over 24 years, the RENNIKS “Stamps Of Australia” is super value at just $A27.50 r.r.p, and has over 3,000 colour photographs, and about 270 colour pages.

This perfect sized book (150 x 215mm size) lists and illustrates in FULL COLOUR, the Colonial “State” Stamps of Australia, from 1850 to 1912, also all Australian Commonwealth and AAT stamps from 1913 to June 2016. The photo nearby shows the front cover of the latest catalogue.

Not just basic issues either.  All perfs and watermarks are listed in the Kangaroo and KGV heads series, Large and Small “OS” punctures are listed for both, and “OS” for all later commems etc.  Also listed and illustrated are the popular Philatelic Numismatic Covers (PNCs) which are popular with both stamp and coin collectors.

First Day Covers are priced right back to the 1920s, and modern stamp booklets and Prestige Booklets are all listed and priced.  As are all Miniature Sheets and sheetlets etc. The sheetlets 10 are sometimes priced mint and used, and some only mint. Suggestion to Editor - add the used price to all, in line with mint - I use 1,000s a year myself on mail.

Editor is Alan B. Pitt, who is Managing Director of Renniks/Lighthouse, who are Australian agents for Lighthouse, Stanley Gibbons and UK Hagner Sheets etc.  I’ve known Alan for 35 years and how on earth he gets time to cobble all this stuff together, I have no idea, but RENNIKS “Stamps Of Australia” is a superbly priced 1 stop book for this region for most collectors.

Renniks publish the sister volume - the regular “Australian Coin and Banknote Values” catalogues, and have done for well over half a Century. It is the absolute “Bible” in the numismatic industry for coins, and most especially, Banknote prices.  Next edition is out very early December at $39.95 r.r.p.   

Few know it, but RENNIKS spelt backwards is SKINNER, and these catalogues were founded in 1964 by the numismatic industry uber legend Dion H. Skinner, who came up with the easy to remember brand name, and it lives on, over a half century later.

Renniks/Lighthouse are a huge national operation, wholesaling stamps and coin accessories, and masses of motoring and other collector and niche books and stationery.  They get large numbers of these catalogues placed into bookshops and newsagents and libraries nationally via their networking, which means lots of new collectors get into stamps, as $27.50 is a perfect price point.