Early Colombia airmails in Cherrystone’s Jan. 8-9 auction

By Michael Baadke

Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers has scheduled its next public auction for Jan. 8-9, 2019, at its New York City galleries.

The sale features United States and worldwide stamps and postal history, along with an ample offering of large lots and collections.

Among the 1,678 lots are a number of rare and hard-to-find stamps from around the world.

Twelve lots offer various single stamps from Colombia’s well-known airmail set issued by Compania Colombiana de Navagacion Aerea (Scott C2-C10). The company flew some of the nation’s airmail under government contract in 1920 and issued a set of nine lithographed stamps with colorful vignettes.

A number of additional single-color stamps were also issued by the same company, and Cherrystone has one lot offering two full sheets — one of the 10-centavo green and the other the 10c red brown — plus two first-flight covers, each franked with one of the 10c green issues (Scott C11).

Collectors with an interest in Europe will find much to choose from, including the 1852 first set of stamps from Luxembourg featuring the portrait of Grand Duke William III (Scott 1-3).

The stamps are described as unused with full original gum, lightly hinged, “incredibly fresh and brilliant colors, margins all around.” The minimum bid for this set is $7,500.

An intriguing black velvet presentation folder from India features the 1948 Gandhi set with “Specimen” overprint affixed to gold foil pages. The booklet is described in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue immediately following the listing for India Scott 203-206.

More than 225 lots of U.S. material opens the auction, with numerous classics and a few modern rarities, including a single example of the 1979 $1 Candleholder stamp with engraved brown inverted. The stamp is commonly known as the CIA invert because a partial pane of the error was purchased at a post office by employees of the spy agency.

Other U.S. inverts in this sale include a used 1869 30¢ Eagle, Shield and Flags stamps with inverted ultramarine flags (Scott 121b), and a 1901 1¢ green and black stamp from the Pan American Exposition set, with the black vignette inverted (294a).

The lots from this auction can be viewed online in different formats, including as a downloadable PDF document. Online bidding options are available.

For additional information, contact Cherrystone Auctions, 119 W. 57th St., Suite 316, New York, NY 10019.

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