Canada Scott #32 (Sg #57Ac): 2c Green On Laid Paper

Just saw the following online from Canada Stamp Finder which may be of interest to collectors of Canadian stamps:

Canada Scott #32 (SG #57ac): 2c Green on LAID PAPER Mint/Used: Used Price: 369000.00 Description:

2¢ Green on LAID PAPER with prominent horizontal laid lines and a most attractive blue straight line (REGIS)TERED cancel, the stamp has a small shallow thin and light vertical crease but is certainly the finest and most presentable of the three known examples of this WORLD CLASS RARITY, universally acknowledged as CANADA'S RAREST POSTAGE STAMP. It is the keystone item in Canadian philately and is an essential requirement for those seeking either a complete collection of the Large Queen issue or Canada in general and is one of the most FAMOUS and SOUGHT-AFTER STAMPS in the WORLD. It is accompanied by a 1935 Royal Philatelic Society of London certificate of genuineness. In the past, this treasure has graced many of the finest Canadian collections ever formed, including: Ferrary, Colson, Reford, Kanee, 'Bayfield' & Brigham

There is NO laid paper!

We are dealing here with some kind of watermark of parallel lines.

A highly overestimated piece of paper for those who can afford to spend money without thinking ...

I am just writing what others wrote describing this stamp.

And keep the fairy tale alive ....

Jogil, Is this 369000 Canadian or US $?

For a good review of the papers used for printing the Large Queens, see The Canadian Philatelist. Vol 9, #1, Whole #43 (Jan-Feb 1958), Vol 9, #2, Whole #44 (Mar-Apr 1958), and Vol 9, #3, Whole #45 (May-Jun 1958). The issues are available on the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada's website.

Gilles le timbre it appears to be CDN$

Hi Jogil,

Great catch. It must be in USD though. It last sold on February 22, 2014 at the first Brigham Auction. I did not generate the amount of money that Ron Brigham was looking for, but as you may recall, the third example was discovered not a year prior to this sale. Of the three existing, this is certainly the very best one. I was at the auction and it was pretty exciting when this came up. It sold for for CDN 475,000. Brigham had an estimate of $900K on it.

There was a 15% buyers commission, putting the total price at CDN 546,250. At todays exchange, that would be about US$413,000. So I am surprised to see it for sale at US$369,000. Canada Stamp Finder is owned by Maxime Herold. She was the Chief Administrative Officer for Brigham Auctions from 2014-2016. She, like Brigham, is working out of Brampton. If you put Canada Stamp Finder's 20% Buyer's Commission on it, the final sale would be for about US$442K. I guess the Classic Canadian stamp market is a little weak.

True laid or no, it is still a great rarity in Canadian philately.

I wouldn't say the high-end Canada stamp market was weak, I'd say there are not many stamp collectors with an extra $400K to spend.

Is this the only copy still in Canadian hands? You would think that someone selling their house for top dollar in Toronto these days might be able to afford this stamp.

I am not sure if anyone knows who bought and owns the third discovered copy that was auctioned off by Eastern Auctions before Brigham auctioned his copy?

Who was it who wanted to own both copies when there were only two known and who thought of destroying one of them in order to make this stamp unique?

A few years ago, Ron Brigham, who has amassed what is recognized as Canada's most valuable private collection of stamps, launched a bid for Canada's rarest stamp that says everything about his postage obsession, not to mention the surprisingly cutthroat world of philately. The 1868 two-cent Large Queen on Laid Paper, as it is known, is so rare that only two stamps were known to exist. Brigham already owned one, while the second, of lesser quality, was held by an American collector. One night in 1999, while the two men both happened to be in Australia, Brigham made his move, offering $300,000 for the stamp.
"Why would you want it?" the American collector asked. "You've got the other one."
"Because," Brigham told him, "I'm going to burn yours."
The owner didn't sell. And as Brigham sits in the basement of his unassuming home in Brampton, Ont., leafing through his collection—estimated by some to be worth at least $10 million—and retelling the story, it's hard to know if he was joking or serious.

Full article from Macleans Magazine can be found here: https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/postage-paid/

Here is a listing of some Large Queens that may have been in the Brigham Auction:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1be...yyilHhY/view

Here is the online page for the Large Queens Brigham Auction:

https://stampauctionnetwork.com/bg/bg1.cfm

I have found and have the 4th stamp known to exsist.

I am happy to challenge you on this,
Whilst I won't argue the point, Nor shall I shout YES in capitals, in apparent dominance of an argument, I'll just lay out my understanding of the accepted interpretation of "laid" paper.

First, the dandy roll. This cylinder applies to the wet pulp the finish
that we describe as "wove" or "laid" paper. If the cylinder is made
of a wire screen in which the horizontal wires are equal in number
to the vertical wires — as, for instance, ordinary mosquito netting
then the pulp that passes under it will be known as "wove" paper. If
the surface of the roll is made up of parallel wires held in place by
widely spaced supporting wires, the pulp passing under it will be
known as "laid" paper. The lines of the dandy roll will appear as laid
parallel to each other. The supporting wires, which also show up on
laid paper, are called "batonnes" and we have "laid batonne"; or if the
wires are close to each other we call the result "laid quadrille," or
plain "quadrille" paper.

Both laid and wove paper are, of course, actually watermarked paper
for the laid lines or the even texture we see, when holding the paper
before a light, is the result of the surface of the Dandy Roll being
pressed into the wet pulp. However, watermarks are actually an
added device. Small bits of metal, called "bits," are stamped out in
required design and soldered or wired to the surface of the Dandy
Roll. This can, and often is, done on either a wove or a laid-surface
dandy roll. But whether on wove or laid paper, if there be a
watermarked device, collectors refer to the paper as "watermarked."

Source: The Complete guide to Stamp collecting
Author : Prescott Holden "Pep" Thorp (Minkus) 1948
Grosset and Dunlap New York

I hope that members can understand this, "laid" as not being a physical
occurence, rather a reference to the type of screening.

Dandy Roll (Wove Paper)
My collection source unknown (Poss Brit Museum)
Click image to see fine screening (wove)