Lot
583 (
)
British Columbia & Vancouver Island, 1865, 5¢ Rose, Imperf, margins large to just shaving frameline at bottom left, strong bright color, 3mm cut at bottom not detracting from appearance, Fine; with 1987 R.P.S. certificate. SG No. 11. Scott No. 3 $42,500.
AN EXTREMELY RARE MINT EXAMPLE OF THE 1865, 5¢ QUEEN VICTORIA IMPERFORATE ISSUE.
Vancouver Island's five cent imperforate unused is one of British North America's rarest stamps. In 1865 De La Rue sent five and ten stamps to Victoria. An undetermined number of sheets of each value were sent without perforations and so were issued in that state. A census of satisfactory four margin unused copies of the five cents follows:
1.Vertical pair, lot 24 Harmers New York Dale-Lichtenstein sale of May 11, 2004, described as full original gum - realized $115,000. This was the only BC&VI item illustrated in Life Magazine's May 3, 1954 "World's Rarest Stamps" article.
2. Large margin o.g. single ex-Ferrary Sale VI, lot 229, also ex Amundsen and Baillie (Sotheby NY May 10-12, 2006, lot 6, realized $86,250).
3. Similar large margin unused single most recently sold in Spink Shreve Dauer sale of January 30, 2014 as lot 2.
4. Smaller margin part o.g. single ex-Burrus and Baille lot 7 described as "small paper mark showing through at the right".
5. Smaller margin part o.g. single ex-Wellburn collection (Eaton & Sons October 6, 1988, Toronto, lot 1136).
Realized: $9,500