Cavendish Sale Romanian Lot Estimated At 80 Pounds Hammers For 1900 Pounds

I was watching the auction on SAN for a Russia lot and the lot just prior to it was group of 32 early Romanian stamps on a Hagner page along with one cover. It was estimated at 80 Pounds and imagine my utter astonishment to watch it rise to 1900 Pounds before being hammered down. Add the tip on top and somebody paid 2280 Pounds. That is the largest estimate multiple that I have ever seen.

My question is what do other folks see that prompted this. There obviously is something in the lot that is very special. I seriously doubt this being a regular case of bidder exuberance.

Scans of the lot:





See lot 2295:

https://stampauctionnetwork.com/CV/cv83915.cfm#47

Well, there is a MAJOR player in Romania buying Romania for a museum he wants to set up. I would guess two dealers trying to buy the cover to sell to him playing chicken.

Maybe a dealer and the collector himself, or his collection conservator.

Very small numbers for his level of wealth.

The estimate's legit. I can only imagine two scenarios: some sort of rivalry/ego at play, or the cover is to/from someone the buyer holds dear. I mean, if I stumbled across a cover with a grandparent or other relative, I'd pay through the nose for it.

I'm still awaiting the eccentric millionaire eBay purchaser, just as I am the wealthy redhead of a certain age, but I've found my recent, rather less exalted, eBay lots of pre-1947 Romania have gone better than I'd expected. Two figures, not four, sadly.

A number of years ago, when the Japanese market was at its strongest, Bob Lippert (Detroit) estimated a lot of a half dozen or so old Japanese covers at $50. He prefaced the opening of the lot with "It appears that we blew the estimate." and then proceeded to open the lot at $5,000 and watch the bidding climb from there.