In the United States, H.R. Harmer of New York held two important general auctions of primarily United States and worldwide stamps and postal history on September 28-30. The auctions realized $1,933,000 in total aggregate sales with a sell-through rate by value of 86% against a pre-sale estimate of $1.2 million. Greg Manning Auctions held a specialized auction of collections and dealers’ inventories on September 17, which realized $2.8 million. This amount was well over the pre-sale estimate of $2.1 million, and an 85% sell-through rate was achieved. The most important single collection in this auction was an advanced 39-volume worldwide collection that realized $333,500 against its estimated value of $280,000 to $350,000.

“Our September philatelic auction results are indicative of the strength of the philatelic marketplace on a worldwide basis,” said Greg Manning, President of Escala’s North American and Asian Philatelic Auction division. “Organic growth from our existing philatelic auction companies is a priority for us, and our September results will help us along this path.”

In Europe, September began with two auctions at Heinrich Koehler Berlin, which included a general offering of worldwide material and a specialized one-owner auction of Schleswig-Holstein, a former German State that issued its own stamps during the 19th Century. These two auctions realized aggregate sales of approximately $1.4 million, with an average sell-through rate by value of 95%. Also in Germany, sales at Heinrich Koehler Auctions in Wiesbaden on September 29-30 and October 1 produced outstanding results, with aggregate sales of approximately $3 million against a pre-sale estimate of $2 million. A sell-through percentage by value reached 89%.

Ramon Egurbide, President of European Operations, commented, “Our results at Heinrich Koehler Auctions under the able management of Dieter Michelson have consistently year to year been well ahead of internal forecasts, and these two 1st quarter auctions continue that trend. We look forward to another solid year in our European auction companies, with our September sales being a firm foundation upon which to build.”

In Asia, the company’s auctions were successful, as well. John Bull Auctions, Ltd held two auctions in Hong Kong on September 3 which included the important single-owner auction of the H. Bentley Glass collection of China. These two sales realized $1,150,000 and carried a pre-sale estimate of $800,000. A sell-through rate of 90% highlighted the activity at the John Bull sales.

Larry Gibson, General Manager of John Bull Auctions, Ltd, stated, “We were extremely pleased with the exceptional interest in these auctions by buyers, especially the contingent of bidders who arrived from Taipei, braving the aftermath of a typhoon which had just hit Taiwan.” Gibson continued, “We noticed a pronounced upswing in the prices of issues from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as the issues of China prior to the establishment of the PRC in 1949. Certainly the established middle class in Hong Kong, coupled with the rapidly developing middle class in China, has generated a sharp increase in realizations, as disposable income continues to increase.”

Posted: 10|15|05 at 9:28 am. Filed under: US News.