The William H. Gross Scandinavia Collection continued...

FINLAND 1875-1930 ISSUES

Lot	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description	CV or Estimate
1041		16	#16, 1875 32p Lake, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, well centered single, tied to folded entire to Riga, Latvia by blue "Postkupe Exped. Pimska/31.8/1875" railroad postal compartment c.d.s., additional strike at bottom center, backstamped St. Petersburg and Riga, couple of faint and inconsequential tone spots on stamp mentioned for strict accuracy only, very fine; one of the finest covers known bearing Finland's rarest single franking; 1996 BPA certificate; ex-Nygren (Facit #11; 130,000SEK). (Image)	Est. $10,000-15,000 SOLD for $7,500.00 Will close during Public Auction
1042		16	#16, 1875 32p Lake, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, fairly well centered single tied to cover to Pashkova, Russia by partial blue August 1875 railroad postal compartment c.d.s., multiple backstamps and arrival cancels, including St. Petersburg, Moscow and Pashkova, few faint tone spots to cover and slightly reduced at top, still fine for this extremely rare cover; 1996 BPA certificate; ex-Nygren (Facit #11; 130,000SEK). (Image)	Est. $4,000-5,000 SOLD for $4,250.00 Will close during Public Auction
1043	/	29b	#29b, 1875 25p Rose, perforated 12 1/2, tête-bêche pair, the error pair being in the bottom left corner (position 91) in a bottom left corner sheet-margin block of six, marvelously bright and fresh, unusually well centered (especially when compared to the few other existing copies), pristine o.g., very lightly hinged on a few stamps (the tête-bêche position being n.h.), just a few separated perforations in the bottom sheet selvage, very fine and striking; irrefutably the finest of the mere seven recorded examples of this inverted cliché error; unpriced both in Facit and Scott; 1997 Gummesson certificate; ex-Fabergé, Mellgren (Facit #17LC2v1). (Image)	Est. $15,000-20,000 SOLD for $16,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
1044		30	#30, 1882 1M Violet, perf. 12 1/2, gem mint bottom sheet-margin single, incredibly bright and fresh, exceptionally well centered, o.g. (natural "crackly" gum), n.h., extremely fine (Facit #19LC2c; 5,000SEK). (Image)	$525.00 SOLD for $325.00 Will close during Public Auction
1045	/	30	#30, 1882 1M Violet, perf. 12 1/2, brilliantly fresh bottom left corner sheet-margin block of four, deep rich color, well centered, o.g., top pair lightly hinged, bottom pair n.h., very fine; a handsome mint multiple; 1997 Gummesson certificate; ex-Mellgren (Facit #19LC2c; 18,000SEK for a hinged block of four). (Image)	$1,770.00+ SOLD for $850.00 Will close during Public Auction
1046		36	#36, 1885 5M Green and rose, perforated 12 1/2, very scarce and desirable bottom sheet-margin mint block of four, quite fresh, strong colors, well centered, o.g., n.h., very fine and choice; 1997 Gummesson certificate; ex-Mellgren (Facit #25b; 38,000SEK). (Image)	$3,900.00+ SOLD for $2,100.00 Will close during Public Auction
1047		37	#37, 1885 10M Brown and rose, perforated 12 1/2, pristine left sheet-margin mint single, well centered, o.g., n.h., very fine (Facit #26; 10,000SEK). (Image)	$1,050.00 SOLD for $700.00 Will close during Public Auction
1048		37	#37, 1885 10M Brown and rose, perforated 12 1/2, exceedingly handsome and scarce top sheet-margin mint block of four, uncharacteristically well centered and margined, o.g., light hinged reinforcement of a few separated vertical perforations at top, bottom pair faintly hinged, very fine; 1997 Gummesson certificate; ex-Mellgren (Facit #26a; 25,000SEK). (Image)	$2,000.00+ SOLD for $1,450.00 Will close during Public Auction
1049		46-58	#46-58, 1894-92 1k-7R Russian Coat of Arms cplt., pristine mint set, brilliantly fresh, strong colors, o.g., n.h., fine-very fine; not often encountered as a never hinged set (Facit #35-47; 10,000SEK). (Image)	$1,125.75 SOLD for $575.00 Will close during Public Auction
1050		56-58	#56-58, 1891-92 1R-7R Russian Coat of Arms cplt., a showpiece set of the three high values in matching top right corner sheet-margin blocks of four, each with enormous full size sheet margins, brilliantly fresh, well centered, o.g., stamps themselves n.h., each block with small mounting thins in the extreme top right edges of the sheet selvages, very fine and striking (Facit #45-47; 32,800+SEK as never hinged singles). (Image)	$3,620.00+ SOLD for $1,800.00 Will close during Public Auction
1051		82	#82, 1915 10M Black and greenish gray, perforated 14 1/2, choice top right corner sheet-margin mint block of four, exceptionally well centered, fresh and crisp, o.g., n.h., very fine and quite choice (Facit #61; 7,200+SEK as four n.h. singles). (Image)	$640.00+ SOLD for $500.00 Will close during Public Auction
1052		82a	#82a, 1915 10M Black and greenish gray, perforated 14 1/2, horizontal pair, imperforate vertically, a highly select example of this rare error, being one of only 25 pairs recorded, "post office" fresh, well centered, o.g., n.h., very fine and exceedingly choice; 1994 Gummesson certificate (Facit #61v1; 28,000SEK for hinged). (Image)	for hinged $2,900.00 SOLD for $2,600.00 Will close during Public Auction
1053		C1a	#C1a, 1930 "Zeppelin/1830" overprint on 10M Gray lilac, "1830" for "1930" error, choice mint single of this scarce and popular error, marvelously well centered and margined, o.g., n.h., extremely fine; very few still exist both this choice and never hinged; small expert's mark on reverse (Facit #165v; 25,000SEK). (Image)	for hinged $2,000.00 SOLD for $1,900.00 Will close during Public Auction

ICELAND 1873-1896 ISSUES

Lot	Symbol	CatNo.	Lot Description	CV or Estimate
1054		2, 3	#2, 3, 1873 4s Dark carmine and 8s Brown, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, two singles of the former and a single of the latter, all tied to a unique "parcel" cover to Reykjavik by very rare antique type "Völlur/15.1" town postmarks (Facit R3 rarity rating), two strikes tie the stamps and a third very clear strike at top left of cover, the stamps themselves with small perforation flaws (a few short or missing perforations) which are quite characteristic to all Skilling stamps of Iceland, the reverse of the cover with backflap faults from removal of wax seal (one backflap separated and hinged into place), the address side of the cover is extremely attractive and clean, in fact its overall appearance is far superior to most of the small number of existing first issue Skilling covers, fine.Covers bearing the first issue Skilling stamps of Iceland are among the greatest and most desirable postal history rarities of any Scandinavian country. There are a total of 65 recorded covers, however 52 are housed in museums, leaving only 13 covers available to collectors. The cover offered here is the only known inland parcel letter franked with Skilling stamps.A showpiece cover essential to the serious collector or exhibitor of Iceland. Accompanied by 1998 certificates of Vagn Jensen, Carl Aage Møller and Lasse Nielson; ex-Dr. Scott (Facit #2, 3). (Image)	Est. $30,000-40,000 SOLD for $60,000.00 Will close during Public Auction
1055		4	#4, 1873 16s Yellow, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, very rare mint block of four, with sheet margin at right, vivid color, centered just to design at right, o.g., couple of minor h.r.'s, a couple of which reinforce separated perforations at the sheet margin, fine; signed H. Bloch and accompanied by his undated Friedl certificate (Facit #4; 60,000SEK). (Image)	$6,400.00+ SOLD for $1,500.00 Will close during Public Auction
1056		4 var.	#4 var., 1873 16s Yellow, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, inverted watermark, well centered unused example, fresh color, perforations more intact than typically seen on the Skilling issues, very fine; 1969 PF certificate; ex-Joyner (Facit #4v1; 13,000SEK). (Image)	$1,600.00+ SOLD for $625.00 Will close during Public Auction
1057		6	#6, 1873 4s Carmine, perforated 12 1/2, select unused example, well centered and margined, rich color, very fine; 1970 PF certificate; ex-Joyner (Facit #6; 12,500SEK). (Image)	$1,400.00 SOLD for $575.00 Will close during Public Auction
1058	O	8	#8, 1876 5a Blue, perforated 12 1/2, unusually well centered, fresh color, light portion of Kirjuæjarklaust town c.d.s., very fine; genuine used examples cancelled during the correct period are terribly elusive; 1993 Eldrup certificate (Facit #23; 6,500SEK). (Image)	$725.00 SOLD for $210.00 Will close during Public Auction
1059		12	#12, 1876 16a Brown, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, very scarce mint block of four, extraordinarily well centered, deep luxuriant color, o.g., couple of trivial h.r.'s, very fine and choice; multiples of this issue are quite elusive and the Facit catalog gives a 12x the normal price of a single for a block of four (Facit #13; 12,000SEK). (Image)	Facit 12,000SEK SOLD for $400.00 Will close during Public Auction
1060		18a	#18a, 1898 40 Red violet, perforated 12 1/2, handsome mint example of this very rare stamp, with only 40 examples known, strong fresh color, well centered, o.g. which is just slightly disturbed from hinge removal, very fine; among the rarest stamps of Iceland; light expert's signature in pencil (Facit #30; 70,000SEK). (Image)	$5,000.00 SOLD for $3,250.00 Will close during Public Auction