The Stefano Fantaroni collection of Italy and the Jose Castillejo collection of Guatemala were offered during Spink's June 8 sale.

Only a single sheet of 50 of this invert was printed, and the block sold is one of the “piezas notables” of Argentinian philately.

The sale included scarce postmasters’ provisionals, as well as some seldom-seen essays for stamps that were never issued.

Anyone who thought that cute animals were an innovation of the Internet age would have been set straight by a cover sold in the Kelleher auction.

A unique $9 Continental Bank Note Co. special printing brought a total realized price of $356,500.

The stamp is among those issued for a postage machine vending competition sponsored by the U.S. postmaster general.

A half dozen U.S. postmasters’ provisionals are among the first lots to cross the auction block Saturday.

Also part of the sale will be a mint never-hinged single of the 1998 unissued “Yellow Hat” stamp.

Spink UK in London will auction Part VI of the Lionheart collection of Great Britain and British Empire on July 26, followed by additional worldwide material in the Spink Collector’s Series sale.

Also this week, we previewed APS Stampshow in our Monday Morning Brief and learned about the world's first pictorial postage stamps.

It took the Confederate government a while to produce its first national stamp issue, so local postmasters stepped in and produced their own.

The item was part of the William H. Gross collection of Hawaii that sold during World Stamp Show-NY 2016.

It opened at a modest $1,000 and sold for $20,400, including the 20 percent buyer’s premium the Harmer firm adds to all lots.

The stamp had been reperforated at top at some time in the past by someone looking to improve the stamp’s aesthetic appearance.

An 1862 cover bearing a Confederate postmaster’s provisional stamp of Marion, Va., was said to be one of just six examples in private hands.

In front of an overflow crowd of showgoers, the stamp, which came from position 58 in the original sheet, smashed all records to go for $1,351,250.

The firm touted the sale as emblematic of their operation: combining better singles and sets with country collections and lots more appealing to dealers.

Just 1,000 were printed of this stamp, and most ended up being used. Only a few survive in unused condition.