Philippe de La Renotière von Ferrary (1850-1917), Léon Dubus (1894-1981), John E. du Pont (1938-2010)… The collections of these famous philatelists were dispersed after their death, during specialized sales for millionaires called in their name. But this remains exceptional. Quite often, philatelists organize the transfer of their collections during their lifetime. They are in the best position to estimate its value and find the best buyers. Not without humor, for Arnaud de La Mettrie, member of the Academy of Philately, “If we knew when we were going to die, we would sell two or three days before” ! If this is not the case, perhaps the albums you inherited, or that you found in an attic, contain those rarities with which sales are full, which make five-figure auctions commonplace.
This is evidenced, for example, by this Japanese stamp from 1871 which reached, on June 3, the record price of 5.4 million euros (with fees), from David Feldman, in Switzerland, or this letter franked with a ” Post office “ from Mauritius orange-red and dating from 1847, sold for 8.1 million euros in 2021 at Christoph Gärtner, in Germany.
More modestly, the Behr house in Paris is currently selling, for 200,000 euros, a “Mulready” letter from Great Britain to the East Indies (1840), with five “Two Pence Blue”. She had awarded, in Junea strip of four canceled copies of the 1 franc vermilion (France, 1849) at the price of 132,500 euros and, for 300,000 eurosan orange-red “One Penny” and a “Two Pence Blue” from Maurice (1847), “most beautiful pair known” new. Currently, the La Postale philatélie sale in Paris, closed on November 17, is offering a head-to-tail pair of dark blue “Cérès” 20 centimes, unissued, starting at 78,000 euros.
It would be a shame to miss out on such a windfall if you were to inherit a stamp collection. What advice should we give to rights holders who would like to sell, and who know nothing about it? Above all, Paolo Salvatori, the president of the French Trade Union Chamber of Philatelic Dealers and Experts (CNEP) – nearly one hundred and forty members throughout France, bound by a professional charter – draws the attention of his colleagues: in the part of an inheritance, “there must always be the agreement of the rights holders”. Once this problem has been resolved, you must trust the professional, the trap to avoid being haste and… Internet, which offers few guarantees and where fakes abound, according to general opinion.
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