Memorable mementos up for grabs

The auction will take place at Stephan Welz & Co’s new premises in Mandela Square, Sandton City. Over 1 100 items will be up for sale in one of the biggest Stamp and Coins auctions to be held in many years in South Africa.

Issued in Britain for official use from May 6 1840 and featuring a profile of a young Queen Victoria, the stamp is estimated at R1 800 000 – R2 500 000. Its high value stems from it being one of only some 60 of the 68 million issued, used on the popular stamp’s first day.

The idea of an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage was part of Sir Rowland Hill’s 1837 proposal to reform the British postal system; at the time, it was normal for the recipient to pay postage upon delivery. Hill proposed at a government enquiry the use of a separate sheet that folded to form an enclosure or envelope for carrying letters. At that time postage was charged by the sheet and on the distance travelled.

The Penny Black to be auctioned is a fine 1d black, plate 1a letters AC, used on first day of issue May 6, 1840, a letter sheet sent to Rochdale. The stamp is cancelled by a red Maltese Cross and has an indistinct straight line cancellation in black. The letter has an interesting comment: “P.S. What think you of the sticking plaster for a penny postage”.

“This is a unique usage of the world’s first stamp on the world’s first ‘First Day Cover’, and is an item for the connoisseur and ideal for exhibition,” says Savo Tufegdzic, Stamp Specialist at Stephan Welz & Co. It is illustrated on page 29 of Michael Jackson’s ‘May Dates’ book. The item comes with a 1987 Royal Philatelic Society certificate. The Stanley Gibbon’s Specialised Catalogue Vol I catalogues this item at from ++ £160000.

Two new categories – Autographs and Nelson Mandela Memorabilia – have been added to the Stamp and Coin auction’s offerings. “People are still talking about the huge collection of Mandela memorabilia that film producer Anat Singh bought at one of our auctions last year for over R1.1 million,” says Tufegdzic. “The market for Mandela memorabilia is on fire.”