Revenue Collectors Gone Wild...

At auction that is.

I sat through the Michael Aldrich auction tonight online, and some of the numbers garnered were silly, in my opinion.

Aldrich is similar to Apfelbaum in that most of the material in their auctions is their own inventory, with some consigned material sprinkled in. Also, like with Apfelbaum you have to be very careful of misdescribed, fake, and/or faulty material and examine VERY closely upon receipt. The opening bids for MANY of the lots were just crazy and received no competition. Very many lots with no activity.

That said, I did watch (and even participate in) some rather spirited bidding, pushing some material to levels that had me shaking my head... and thankful that I have a huge collection of cancels. I could make a very tidy sum if I sold out... which of course I won't do.

Table of contents: http://http://stampauctionnetwork.com/b/b69.cfm

Some lots that went far too high that I know actually sold as opposed to going to the book (I've included the 15% juice):

523. $120.75 against a CV of $50. It's nice but not spectacular.

533. $431.25 against a CV of $15. Yes it's a jumbo, but just buy a block instead for that money.

537. $230 against a CV of $72.50. Yes, the cancel is bold, but for a creased stamp with a nick at the top? Nah. $75 max.

539. $195.50 against a CV of $45.00. Attractive stamp but relatively common cancel.

542. $109.25 against a CV of $47.50. This one is aesthetically nice from a cancel perspective, but there looks to be a tear at the upper left and a corner crease at lower right.

546. $86.25 against a CV of $125. This one is actually reasonable, if the stamp is actually sound, but to me it is an ugly stamp. That cancel actually detracts from the stamp, lowering its appeal in my opinion.

549. $63.25 against a CV of $1.00. I like jumbos as much as the next guy, but that's just too much. Also, I don't like the staining/soiling along the left margin.

551. $74.75 against a CV of $100. Very attractive stamp at first glance... until you see the vertical crease running right down the middle and the tear at left.

553. $333.50 against a CV of $100. Assuming the stamp is sound, this is actually one hell of a stamp. Too rich for my blood though.

557. $126.50 against a CV of $0.75. This isn't as far-fetched as it might initially seem, as Pacific Mail Steamship cancels do garner VERY large premiums... however this is a single strike, the stamp is poorly centered, and has issues at the upper left. This is more of a $50 item.

558. $46.00 against a CV of $15.00. The cancel is beautiful, as are the margins, but it has creases at upper right and what looks to be a large tear at bottom center. No way.

565. $155.25
566. $218.50

R78a catalogs $27.50. These are attractive contrasting cancels, but not as well struck as I would like, NOT worth anywhere near those numbers. Maybe $50-75 at most.

577. $166.75 against a CV of $20.00. No way. Well-centered examples are out there if you look. I've passed on ones at $40-75 because I just wasn't willing to pay that premium. 8x Scott is nuts.

Now all that said, there were some decent deals to be had. I bought 7 lots, all but one of them between 27% and 35% of Scott after buyer's premium. The only one I "paid" for was lot 618. I already have a faulty strip of 5, but this one, if sound as advertised, is choice.

Interesting summary. I guess stamp collecting isn't dead after all...

Do you think the bidders/buyers here would be better described as "collectors" or "investors?" I infer from your summary that many of the stamps are not what we typically think of as investment grade examples.

Anyway, I don't really have a question, just musing aloud.

KirkS

By the way, A+ on your choice of thread title

I have also noticed the same kind of bidding in regular auctions for regular postage stamps.

You have to ask yourself, what is it I am missing here. Seldom, if ever, have I paid catalogue value and over for a stamp.

Chimo

Bujutsu

It really depends on what exactly you are collecting.

If I'm buying a STAMP, rarely do I pay more than catalog value... if I'm buying a CANCEL or USAGE, that's an entirely different matter. For certain cancels, the catalog value of the underlying stamp is completely irrelevant to the item's value.

The same can be said of many postal history items. The date, location of use, route of travel, manner of conveyance, and type of processing or payment can have a far greater impact on the value than the Scott value of the stamp(s) used.

I've paid over $300 for certain stamps that had catalog values of 50 cents, just because of the cancel.

In this case though, the prices realized were crazy (in my opinion) even for cancel collectors...

To be honest I was at first hesitent about looking at this thread.

Doesn't this also have something to do with "auction fever", where a buyer may be taken up with the auction setting, and buy something above catalog value just to gain the satisfaction of acquiring it? It seems to me that whether the auction is for stamps or automobiles or antiques, the so-called "list (catalog) value" of an item may be one figure, but when the bidding gets going, the sky's the limit, depending on how much a person wants a specific item.

We've all seen car auctions, for example, where a classic car said to be appraised at $20K, sells at auction for $50K or $100K, so doesn't the same analogy hold true for revenue stamps? If one wants the stamp bad enough, you throw out anything the catalog may have to say and wind up paying top dollar for it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the prices realized at these sort of auctions get factored into the next catalog? In other words, if the catalog value for any given revenue stamp is listed at, say, $100, and it sells at auction for $200, don't these revised sale prices somehow get factored into how the items in valued in future editions of the catalog?

It just seems to me that if so many of these revenue stamps are selling well above catalog value, then the future catalog prices may be set for an upward adjustment in the not too distant future to reflect these higher than catalog value sales.

Maybe it's a means to put collectors on notice to watch for bargains on such things, as the values may be set to go up by the time the next catalog gets published.

wt1,

Hopefully, the resiults of one auction doesn't have that much impact. Especially since my collection still has a lot of holes to fill.

Art

You could probably make that argument for a couple of the jumbos in this auction, assuming they are sound as advertised, but not for the cancels and other items I listed. The material in this auction wasn't *THAT* spectacular. I think it may be a case of (1) cancel collectors new to the field, (2) overseas money entering the market, or (3) a couple of entrepreneurial market-making dealers hoping to push the envelope.

As for "getting caught up in the heat of the moment", I'm guilty of that all the time. It's human nature (and shows a lack of restraint on my part). I bid (and won) a few lots that I hadn't seriously considered before the auction, but when I saw they were garnering no action, I picked them up to either flip or hold long-term for potential resale or trade bait. A few of the multiples went for relatively inexpensive prices.

In my case it was more a case of buying some things I hadn't planned on than stretching way too far on things I wanted. I know that I've said it's never a mistake to overpay for quality, but there are limits.




I'm sorry to say that the horse has already left the barn. The last decade has seen a huge run-up in revenue prices. I really wish I had collected revenues prior to about 9 years ago... all things considered I'm a relative newbie to the field. Before then I just collected worldwide stuff. Back in the '70s and into the '90s revenues were junk box material... dealers couldn't give the stuff away. If I only knew then what I know now.

I've already resigned myself to never owning an acceptable R17a, R80a, or R133, let alone some of the more obscure (and rarer) "printed on the back" varieties and inverts. Those are already at high levels and seem to increase at rates faster than I could ever save for, even if I didn't buy another item for the next year or two and saved all that money.

I'd rather leave the R17s space blank than spend $5K-10K for a subpar ugly example. I can buy a lot of equally rare material in bisects, double impressions, and other varieties for that kind of money.

Granted

The cancellation can make the difference. I too have seen stamp go way up in price because there is a specific cancelletion on it.

However, I can also state that I have seen bidding go wild on stamps that are either MLH or MNH. When I see these up for grabs, I again have to ask myself, what is it I am missing?? These are stamps that do not have cancels simply because they were never used and yet they are far exceeding the catalogue value.

Whether it is Scotts, Stanley Gibbons, Michel, whatever the catalogue, they are just 'guides' anyway and not a true refelection on market trends and values.

Interesting thread.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I'm glad I don't have to deal with the whole MNH versus MLH versus HHR versus LHR issue, compounded by regumming. Collectors of used stamps pay those no heed (for the most part).

A very interesting read revcollector, thanks.

I've been following items at Michael Aldrich for a while now, mainly Match & Medicine but now picked up collecting some early revenues as well.

I don't have the knowledge base yet to pay for the expensive stuff but am looking to fill some of the mid range stamps. I've found your recent posts very helpful.

Just recently I took a small want list and compared some Aldrich stamps to Eric Jackson. Almost across the board Mr. Jackson beat him on condition with very similar pricing.

This is by no means a qualified collector's opinion, just my observations.

I have noticed this happening a lot over the last 10 years or so! As we all know all it takes is 2 people to send an item up into what I call the "stupid range." I have been known to ba a participant in this myself. I can think of one instance where Eric, a friend of mine and Myself were bidding on the same lot. I finally dropped out at 3 times the value. Eric dropped out at almost 5 times the value. All it takes is 2 idiot's (Myself included) who need or want an item to send an item out of controll! I also know of another "collector" who will bid "stupid" amounts to secure an item. Just so he can say "I have 10 of this or 20 of that." He was a spoilled rich kid who is now a spoilled adult living off his grandfathers money. He does it just because he can, according to a mutual friend he does the same thing with coins and many other collectables as well.

It must be nice to not have to work for a living... stupid fate... grrr...

If not working for a living means I would have to act like Him I would rather work 80 hours a week. I have a lot of clients who are far wealthier than him. But, none are as big an a**. The differance is they worked to get where they are.

Very interesting re-cap of the auction! Good looking multiples of the first three issues have long seemed grossly undervalued in my mind.

I received my 7 lots in the mail today. As I originally mentioned, the quality is always a crapshoot with Aldrich, and this time was no exception. Of the 7 lots, 3 are going back for undisclosed faults (one lot with multiple pinholes, and the other two each had tears).

Sadly, the lot I wanted the most of the 7 is one of those that has to be returned. Dagnabit!

The ones I kept:

R17c. It only has VG centering, but has no faults outisde of one short perf and a lovely strike of a St. Louis photographer cancel (George P. Howell).




R80c pair. Putrid centering, but you don't see pairs around all that often, especially with nice SON cancels.



RB13c pair. Oddly enough, prior to this I didn't have any RB13c's in my collection. I had concentrated on the much more expensive RB16c, RB17c, and RB18c. It's not a very expensive pair, only cataloging $325. It has a very faint crease, but unlike many of the roulettes found out there it has no thins or tears. At under 30% of Scott, I'm pleased.




And lastly, the one that was a very pleasant surprise: A strip of three of R85a. The lot decription referred to a "very light vertical crease"... well it's light enough that I can't even find it. No other faults to be found, great margins and color. At 27% of Scott shipped, it was quite the bargain in my opinion.

Heck, I could cut the top stamp off and market it as a complete monster and still have the bottom pair to boot, but I don't believe in cutting up multiples.




I can't quite make out the long manuscript cancel, but I see "Sheriff of ___ County" on the second line and "in this case" at the end of the third line.