Weeda Stamps (Vancouver) weekly bidboard
 

WEEDA STAMPS (VANCOUVER) WEEKLY BIDBOARD AUCTION
Closing 12:30 p.m., Saturday, September 6, 2003

Every week, Weeda Stamps* of Vancouver, British Columbia offers 150 lots of
Canada and worldwide stamps, postal history, collections, and accumulations
in its bidboard auction. I help out the owner, Beverly Fox, by listing some
highlights from her auctions here on r.c.s.m. I'm a bit late this week, but
that means you can see how the initial bidding is going.

I always try to find lots which interest me personally, never a
very tough job.

This week I'm saluting two Canada Admirals. Three, actually. If you've been
reading my Weeda posts regularly, you'll already know that King George V
climbed up the ranks to become a widely respected commander in British Navy.
Lots 19 & 20 show why the Admirals have become such a popular issue.

My third pick this week is Newfoundland C11, certainly one of the more
interesting airmail stamps ever issued, and one that is simply a must have
for any collector interested in the pioneering transatlantic flights.

A curious feature of this stamp are the swastikas which appear in each
corner. The stamp was issued in 1931, 11 years after Adolf Hitler adopted
the swastika as the symbol of the NSDAP, better known as the Nazi party. But
Hitler and his thugs weren't well known outside of Germany at that time, and
if they had been it's unlikely that the Newfoundland government would have
had any sympathy with them. More likely the swastika was used as a design
element, possibly with the understanding that it was traditionally a symbol
of life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. Certainly the aviators who
first crossed the Atlantic had need of all of those!

Hitler was a Johnny Come Lately in choosing the swastika as a symbol for
Germany. It was first used in the mid-1800s to symbolize German nationalism.
Go to http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/aa120699a.htm for an
history of the swastika.

Here are the details of this week's Weeda Bidboard selections:

Lot #19: http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/19.jpg -- Canada #106ix. The 2c
rose carmine Admiral with hairlines and a particularly nice example. VF mint
hinged.

Lot #20: http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/20.jpg -- Canada #109. The 3c
carmine Admiral, a lathework pair in Fine M LH condition, a nice item.

Lot #41: http://www.weeda.com/stampimages/41.jpg -- Newfoundland #C11. MNH
1931 $1 blue airmail, watermarked. Catalogued by Scott Classic.

Except for large items such as collections, box lots and accumulations, most
of Weeda's auction lots are illustrated. For the full list, as well as
prices realized in the previous four auctions, go to the Weeda Stamps web
site at http://www.weeda.com. BIDS, IN CANADIAN DOLLARS, CAN BE PLACED IN
PERSON, BY TELEPHONE, OR ON-LINE UNTIL 12:30 P.M. PDT ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER
6, 2003.

A note about "prices realized": Only rarely does bidding in philatelic
auctions reach the estimated values. If you study the listings and the
prices realized, you'll see that bargains are waiting for any collector. It
is common for expensive and even rare stamps, covers and other philatelic
items to sell in auctions for as little as 10% or 20% of the estimate.

Even if you won't be bidding, check out these other features on the Weeda
web site:

-- The Dutch Auction http://www.weeda.com/dutch.cfm

-- Beverly's Best Buys http://www.weeda.com/classifieds.cfm

-- The Fox Tales Newsletter http://www.weeda.com/news.cfm

Need a clock? Look at the antique clocks that Beverly is advertising for one
of her customers: http://www.weeda.com/details.cfm?id=301. One is an
Ingraham clock! No relation, unfortunately!

Bob Ingraham

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* Weeda Stamps is owned and operated by Beverly Fox. Here's a recent
photograph of her, taken in her stamp shop at 525 Seymour Street in
Vancouver: http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/beverly1.jpg. You can see a picture
of the heritage building where her shop is located at
http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/dealerairbev.html.