Weeda Stamps: News


FOX TALES ON STAMPS Edition #484 Friday, November 27, 2009
The William H. Gross Sale
	Canadian stamps made the news last week when the British North American section of William H. Gross' famous collection was sold through Spink Shreves Galleries in New York City. The highlight of the sale was this mint example of Canada #3 which sold for US$260,000.00 plus commission. A new record for a single Canadian stamp. Also up for sale at the same time was his Confederate States of America Postmasters' Provisionals. The money from the sale of these two collections has been donated to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum's William H. Gross Gallery. William H. Gross is not only one of the world's leading philatelists but is also one of the world's most successful mutual fund managers. Co-founder of Pacific Investment Management (PIMCO), his specialty is bonds. He is listed by Forbes as the 380th richest person in America and the 897th richest person in the world. For more information on William H. Gross below are two mini-biographies that you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Gross http://www.williamhgrosscollection.com/william_gross.html William H. Gross is presently the owner of the only complete collection of 19th century American stamps, having acquired the famous 1¢ Z grill from Mystic Stamps in 2005. He traded an inscription block of the Inverted Jenny in order to obtain the Z grill. The British North America and Confederate States sections of the Gross collection are only the latest installments of his philatelic holdings that he is selling for the benefit of various charities. He began by selling his classic Great Britain in June of 2007 with the total proceeds of $9,136,000.00 donated to Doctors Without Borders. This reconstructed block (block of 18 and strip of 6) mint Penny Blacks sold for a cool million dollars. This full sheet of the 2 shilling brown realized $500,000.00. This was the highest selling item in his collection of "later issues" of Great Britain. In May of 2008 William H. Gross sold off his Scandinavian collection, the key item being this 1866 cover, the left hand pair of 5p red browns being tête-bêche. This cover realized $260,000.00. The proceeds from the Scandinavian Sale were given as a donation to the The Millennium Villages Project. To see illustrated listings of all the prices realized of the six Gross sales to date go to: http://www.williamhgrosscollection.com/results.html
The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names
	Our friend and fellow collector Andrew Scott has published yet another masterpiece on British Columbia. The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names, a Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia (Harbour Publishing) is a 661 page goldmine of information with hundreds of photographs, illustrations and maps. Having grown up in Ocean Falls, the subject of coastal British Columbia is close to my heart. Here are a few samples of the evocative text. Janion Hotel This photo is not from Andrew Scott's book but depicts one of the more intriguing historical buildings in Victoria. I found the story of the family behind the Janion name very interesting.
The Salvation Army Quiz
	We show you a minute portion of the design of a postage stamp. You have to determine which stamp it is. Send us an email with your answer. We hold this contest every second week. For every correct answer we will donate $1.00 to our favourite charity, the Salvation Army. Click here to go to the The Salvation Army International Home Page to see what services they offer to communities around the world.
Answer to Last Week's Salvation Army Quiz
	We received ten correct answers to last week's stamp identification quiz. That means a $10.00 donation to Salvation Army. Here's the portion of the stamp we asked you to identify Here's the answer - Canada #540, the 1971 6c Samuel Hearne issue.