Numerous name collections, U.S. and worldwide stamps, postal history in Nov. 3-6 Kelleher Flagship auction

By Charles Snee

Kelleher Auctions will present its Flagship sale of United States and possessions, British and worldwide stamps and postal history Nov. 3-6 at its gallery in Danbury, Conn. Each day of this Flagship auction will commence at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

“Our Fall Flagship will have you jumping for joy, with nearly 2,000 lots on offer,” Kelleher said. “British Commonwealth offers lovely Great Britain from Mulready envelopes and letter sheets to rarely seen and valuable Officials, followed by quality Australian States through Pitcairn Islands, highlighted by two scarce Karl Lewis Pitcairn covers and the remarkable Stephens Collection of New Zealand Revenues which includes various high values along with several previously unrecorded values. Canada includes numerous early Victorias along with lovely blocks of four and plate strips and blocks, while Worldwide spans Argentina to Western Ukraine with appealing items throughout.

“US is particularly strong, filling three full days of auction, starting with Postmasters’ Provisionals and running all the way through Possessions. Among the innumerable highlights are a complete set of Columbian Large Die Proofs and numerous Columbian plate blocks, a complete set of Pan-Americans on single First Day Cover plus a block of four [Scott] #294a, five 1917 AEF 1¢ booklet panes, a complete pane of the 1969 black-omitted Baseball stamp, scarce plate number coil strips, a ‘grounded plane’ #C3, and more besides. The sale concludes with offerings from the Brougham Collection of Canal Zone offering Essays, Proofs and Specimens, errors, unissueds, and strong Postal History.”

Crossing the auction block on Nov. 4, the second day of the sale, is an attractive registered first-day cover franked with all six denominations of the U.S. 1901 Pan-American Exposition set (Scott 294-299).

The cover was mailed May 1, 1901, from Philadelphia, Pa., to Landau, Pfalz, Germany. Each of the stamps is tied to the envelope by a double-oval Philadelphia “RD” handstamp.

Affixed near the bottom of the cover is a New York, N.Y., registry exchange label [Scott FX-NY1(aii)].

The back of the cover (not shown) bears additional Philadelphia and New York postmarks along with a May 11 “Neustadt Ank.” transit handstamp and a May 11 Landau receiver handstamp.

Kelleher describes the cover as “a most attractive First Day for its age and travels.”

Accompanying the cover is a 2005 expertizing certificate from the Philatelic Foundation in New York City that states the cover is a genuine usage.

The 2025 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values a complete set of the 1901 Pan-American stamps on one first-day cover postmarked May 1 from any city at $30,000. That value is italicized to indicate an item that is difficult to value because it trades infrequently in the philatelic marketplace.

Kelleher is offering this registered first-day cover bearing a complete set of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition stamps with an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000 and an opening bid of $7,500.

Kelleher has produced a single catalog for the four-day Flagship auction that is available for viewing and download on the firm’s website, www.kelleherauctions.com, with online bidding options available on Stamp Auction Network.

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