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By Charles Snee
Collectors of two popular British areas on opposite sides of the Atlantic will have a unique opportunity to add items of exceptional quality to their collections during Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries’ Dec. 18 sale of the Daniel J. Ryterband collection of British North America and Great Britain.
Siegel’s sale of the collection, assembled with a discerning eye over many years, is being conducted in association with Charles F. Shreve, director of Siegel International in Dallas.
In his introduction to the catalog for the auction, Shreve describes Ryterband as “a seasoned collector and exhibitor, and a force in organized philately.”
“As a second-generation and lifelong collector, Dan discovered early on that he was only satisfied with the finest stamps and covers,” Shreve said. “Beauty and condition have been the dominant qualities in all of his collections.”
“As you will see from the contents of this sale, Dan succeeded in acquiring some of the most beautiful quality examples of scarce and desirable British North American stamps,” Shreve said.
A scarce item from Ryterband’s New Brunswick material is a folded letter mailed from St. John, New Brunswick, to London, England, that is franked with five singles of the 1851 6-penny olive yellow stamp (Scott 2). The stamp’s ornate design features the crown of Great Britain and heraldic flowers of the United Kingdom.
According to Siegel, three of the stamps have full to clear margins, while two have a margin touching on one side.
The stamps are tied by five strikes of a black St. John “1” oval grid handstamp. An indistinct red “PAID” circular datestamp dated March 2 (the year is not clear enough to read) also ties the stamp at lower right.
“This is the largest franking of the 6-pence value on cover, correctly paying the two-times 1sh3p rate,” Siegel said. “In addition, it is the only recorded Pence cover paying the double-weight British Packet letter rate to the United Kingdom.”
According to Siegel the cover has graced the collections of renowned philatelists Maurice Burrus, John du Pont, Gerald Welburn, Koh Seow Chuan and Joseph Hackmey.
Accompanying the cover are 1999 British Philatelic Association and 2019 Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation expertizing certificates. Both certificates are clean, meaning that no faults were noted.
A single New Brunswick 1851 6d olive yellow stamp on cover is valued at $1,750 in the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940.
Siegel is offering this folded letter franked with five 1851 6-penny olive yellow stamps with an estimate of $7,500 to $10,000.
Full details of the auction of the Ryterband collection of stamps of British North America and Great Britain, including a downloadable version of the 89-page catalog and online bidding options, are available on the Siegel website at www.siegelauctions.com.
For additional information, contact Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 21 W. 38th St., Seventh Floor, New York, NY 10018.
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