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Every now and then eBay throws up something remarkable.

Cape of Good Hope 4d "Woodblock"
with error of colour, used.

This extremely rare item has been listed by statusinternational (Sydney) on eBay.

Why is it an error? Because it should be Blue!

Just 2 days to go with no bids so far at a start of $12,000 US. An SG Cat value of around $46,000 US! Item No. 250567019054. So far no bids.

Sorry added link to eBay
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

I've been dreaming of having one of these stamps for years and I think there are only about 20 known. You hardly ever see one. And then this pops up here is Australia. I am so jealous! One of my lifes ambitions and I can't afford it!



The margins are close but that doesnt really matter. It has a light Grahamstown roller cancel.
So I'll just keep a copy of the picture, print it out as a spacefiller and one day...who knows.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

You would think with the amount involved that they would spend a few quid to get a cert from the RPSL...They're only providing a Diena cert, in Italian, and its 35 years old.

While Status is reputable *cough* it would still help their case to have a great body weigh in with any statement about thins or repairs.

Tight margins as you say, but then if there's only 20 copies out there, can't be too choosy, who knows when the next might come up.

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

Ummm.

Margins are EVERYTHING on woodblocks .. indeed on all imperfs. No margins and you generally get 10-15% of Cat.

The margins are not "close". There are ZERO margins on this and a nibbled corner, and real value is about $3000-$4000 - on a VERY good day.

If you think there are 20 in the world - subscribe to Feldman Auctions who offers about 20 a year!

I've owned about 6 over the years, and this area is not even remotely my field.

I bought a pretty nice one with Sismondo Cert at Washington 2006 from (Canadian) Vance Auctions stall for about $US3000 (at a % of Scott) and walked 10 yards literally to the Juzwin stand and sold it to him for $US5000. (at a % of Gibbons, who had that week literally DOUBLED the SG value of BOTH woodblocks .. it often pays to buy cats the second they are printed!)

Paid for my airfare and hotel in 5 mins.

While I agree that margins are everything, especially with Woodblocks (as to obtain an exceptional margin means that you had to sacrifice the stamps beside it) I am talking about a error of colour woodblock.

They only occured as 1 per sheet, in the same position and so are very rare. Probably less than 1 per sheet as they don't come in all the colour varieties of the woodblocks.

My references on woodblocks (Stevenson, Jurgens and the Sir J Maxwell Auction Cat) indicate how rare these stamps are.

Stevenson notes that there may have only been 100 left of the Red colour error. Only about 1,100 were ever printed out of the 125,000 woodblocks in red. As most were used to wrap papers in, they were quickly used and tossed. Maxwell had 11 in his astonishing collection. (I checked the photos - this one being offered isn't one of them).

Stevenson notes that there are only 2 mint examples existing of the colour errors in red.

While I can accept that Feldman may offer 20 woodblocks a year - that's reasonable, even eBay sells about 2 a month - they couldn't possibly be selling 20 Colour Error Woodblocks each year. I'll have to check them out!

I am working on a pet project to catalogue and print every existing Woodblock I can get a good photo of. So far I have photos of about 200 of each woody and about 2,000 normal issues.

Woodblocks are one of my passions.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

That one has been repaired as well -- I think it's rebacked from the looks of it.

Ad the lower left corner is either badly creased or repaired.

Old Enzo was having a bad day methinks!

What a hopeless "Certificate" - unless the final sentence says repaired. . my italian in non-existent.

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Click HERE to see superb, RARE and unusual stamps, at FIXED low nett prices, high rez photos, and NO buyer fees etc!

You're right: it says "it is defective and repaired".

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Nigel

The certificate does say that it is damaged and it has been repaired. My Italian comes in handy sometimes.

Hi Brummie,
Its been relisted as it was "no bids".
There are 3 I think Cert's on the ebay site.
Did you want to have a read? And fill us in?

My Italian is restricted to swear words learnt at school!
I learnt about 30 languages at school. Unfortunately only about 5 words in each of them! Go Multiculturalism!!! Wheres Al Grasby?

PS They have listed a rather ummm... ecclectic and pricey mix of old world stamps! Even sold a proof WA Black Swan. And I think that old Italian Newspaper stamp had a bid so was sold for $14,000.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

I will but you put the links up to the certs though. He has 442 items and I don't know which you want me to look at. I'll wait.......

Sorry Brummie - I'm having a flibberty jiibit day. There seems to be just the one certificate.
Although the original link at the top of this thread still works to link to it.

They even show the back of stamp. But its been repaired - rebacked not much point.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Does Diena mention "a small thin" (as per ebay lot) - or "damaged and repaired" ?

====================

FU appearance, close cut & small thin but unusually light cancel & bright colour.

SG 14e cat £40,000 = USD $66,000.

Sc 9f cat $65,000

Extremely attractive example of this famous classic rarity!

Diena AIEP photo cert.

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Click HERE to see superb, RARE and unusual stamps, at FIXED low nett prices, high rez photos, and NO buyer fees etc!

The last line reads:

"In my opinion, a rare and original example but faulty/imperfect and repaired"

Hey my Italian is getting better!

edited in: And he names the colour as "red instead of blue" - but not the shade of red.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

My exact translation of the certificate:

"I have examined the stamp of Cape of Good Hope, 1861, 4 pence, error in colour, red instead of blue (Cat.Yvert&Tellier, no.13b), cancelled, of which is here a photographic reproduction.

In my opinion, the rare example is original; it is defective and is repaired"

It does not mention small thin.

that stamp relised $15500 at auction