Regular club auctions are certainly the highlights of the year for club members.
In this blog, we like to highlight five lots of particular interest from each auction, and how they performed vs. the consigner's minimum/reserve bid. So here goes!
Quite interestingly, for a philatelic club auction, a number of lots come up each auction which are fascinating ephemera, sports collectibles, or vintage materials with a local Southern Oregon connection. This box of old photographs included a stereo panorama image, which are rarely seen. This lot had a minimum bid of $1, and sold for $3.
Still today, but less frequently, stamp dealers and larger clubs send out booklets with stamps on approval -- you can see the condition and color live before selecting for purchase. This mid-century approval booklet with stamps of Germany and Wurttemburg was offered with a minimum bid of $30, a tiny fraction of claimed catalog value. It sold for that minimum bid of $30.
A few months back, we had a great presentation by a club member on the topic of precancels, a specialization especially among US collectors, and for which there are clubs just for collectors of precancels. This large lot of 840 US precancels went up for auction with a minimum bid of $8, but unfortunately did not sell.
Each auction, we put up a good number of lots called "Club Donation" lots. These are donated by club members or from non-members who donate collections, albums, or accumulations to the club from an estate or inheritance. The proceeds from these sales go to the club treasury for club expenses. This lot was a large binder with dozens and dozens of US Plate Blocks, a collecting format that includes margin codes, numbering, and inscriptions. Club Donation lots start out with no minimum bid, and in this case, bidding closed with the buyer taking home this collection for only $15.
This evening's auction saw close to 100 lots go under the gavel. It's hard to pick only five to highlight. But this heavy box of covers (postally used envelopes with the stamps intact and interesting cancellations) was an amazing accumulation for the collector taking this home. With covers often starting at a dollar per in the general market, to see a box like this with a reserve bid set at $1 for the entire lot, amazing. And it went home with the lucky bidder for only $7. You too should come out to our auctions and score values like these... see you there!
