Three Niger Coast Protectorate rarities and an auction record.

An auction of rare postage stamps has just taken place in Switzerland, with dozens of them reaching new record prices. Among them, for example, are 3 stamps from the former British Territory of Niger Coast Protectorate issued in December 1893 in Old Calabar. These three stamps appear on the market individually once every few decades, one of them coming to public auction after more than 100 years! And they have perhaps never been offered together on the market before.

• Overprint '20/-' in vermilion on Great Britain 1 s. dull green is one of the rarest stamps in the world of classic philately with three confirmed examples recorded, one of them housed in the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This was the first time this stamp has been available for open auction sale in 34 years!

• Overprint '20/-' in black on Great Britain 1 s. dull green is also recorded in just 3 examples as the third one resides in the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The first time this stamp has been available for open auction sale in 30 years and the first time this example has been offered openly in 100 years.

• Overprint '20/-' in violet on Great Britain 1 s. dull green is one of the rarest stamps in the world of classic philately with just two examples recorded, the third example known is with the handstamped surcharge inverted. One of the „normal“ examples resides in the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, which makes this item unique in private hands. It is the rarest perforated stamp of British Colonial philately and this week it was the first time this stamp has been available for open auction sale in 100 years!

Well, then, what is the present value of these three stamps? The starting price at Corinphila auction was CHF 160,000 and the bids ended up more than tripling that! The final amount was CHF 520,000 excluding the auction commission, which is 22% extra. So, we are talking about an amount in excess of CHF 630,000! It should be added that the catalogue value is £380,000.

Let's see if it disappears from the market for the next 100 years again, or if it will reappear in a few years at some other auction.

Rare and scarce stamps, not just British Commonwealth stamps, have long been in high demand on the market among collectors and investors, with demand far outstripping supply. The prices achieved in this auction, which lasted six days (!) - from 30 May to 4 June 2022 – in which several thousand rare lots were sold, were clear evidence of this fact.

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