1924-25 50C violet with 'De Montel' advertising in blue in 3 mint n.h. blocks of 10 & 2 block of 6, very fine and fresh; (Sassone €735). (Image)

1930 L7,70 Balbo Transatlantic Crossing proof in lower marginal vertical pair, signed Raybaudi (Sass. 30) (Image)

1986 United Europe 800L Palazzo delle Poste Venezia with variety: totally shifted colours, mint n.h., very fine. (Image)

1863 2s yellow, block of nine (3x3), slightly centred to the left, excellent colour, hinges reinforcing some perforations, a very rare multiple. (Image)

1864 15s brown, great freshness and well centred, mint o.g., very fine; cert. Steiner (2012); Sassone €1'650. (Image)

1858 50gr brownish rose used, very fine; signed Brun, cert. Sorani (2001).

1852-1870, 3 interesting covers: BOLOGNA 1852 to Modena with 1/2 Baj + 7 Baj; ROMA 1869 attractive cover franked with two very fine perforated 5 cent stamps sent to Civitavecchia; ROMA 1870 very fine cover to Paris, France franked with perforated 10c and 40c. (Image)

1852, 5 baj. strip of 5, only first stamp with touched margins, the others very fine and pair with touched margins, tied by "ROMA 25 GEN 63“ cds on cover to Genova, Sardinia with Albenga transit backstamp and 10 decime postage due. A spectacular multiple rate cover (Strip of five is priced in Sassone at €3'250). (Image)

THE MOST VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT ITEM IN THE ISSUES OF PAPAL STATES 1852, 1 scudo carmine-rose, the extraordinary complete sheet of fifty, very fine impression, including the rare interpanneau between fifth and sixth horizontal rows, excellently margined all around, with outstandingly fresh original gum with only few light hinge remains in margins or in few marginal stamps, exceptionally well preserved for an item of this large format with only one crease resulting in a tear which has been closed in upper right corner, mentioned for accuracy as in no way is affecting the designs. A unique item in an outstandingly fine condition representing a quintessential combination of beauty and rarity, described by the highly renowned expert Enzo Diena in his certificate -in English- as "the single most valuable item in the entire area of Pontifical States philately" (then it had not been discovered yet the unissued 20 bajocchi complete sheet of 100 in private hands); one of the most visually impressive and prestigious gems of all Italian States, to be considered with the complete sheet of the 1858 20 bajocchi, as one of the two most significant items of the Papal States, the 20 bajocchi nevertheless being an unissued stamp. Note: This item was the title page illustration of the very important "Alphonse" Pontifical States and Sicily auction catalogue by Phillips, offered as lot 136 on 25 October 1990. Described then as "in perfect condition and extremely well preserved" and confirming its importance with the statement of Enzo Diena as the most valuable item of this State. It was then estimated at £150,000-200,000; in order to compare this item with another important rarity of the Italian States offered then in the "Alphonse" series of catalogues by Phillips, we can mention that the cover from Sicily including three examples of 50 grana in its franking (illustrated in Sassone on page 388), one of the most important gems of Sicily, was then estimated at £15,000-20,000. The One Scudo Sheet was sold at £200,000, which was equivalent in 1990 to around CHF500,000 (these figures do not include the 10% buyer's premium additionally charged then). Provenance: Baron Arthur de Rothschild Expertise: Certs. Enzo Diena (1990), Raffaele Diena (1993, "l'ho firmato "Raffaele maria Diena" in quanto si può considerare come la massima rarità nell'ambito dei francobolli dello Stato Pontificio"). (Image)

1859, lotto composto dalla serie nuova con gomma, più 13 francobolli usati compreso un 8 b., la maggior parte su frammento, ed una lettera da Ferrara per Cento affr. con un 2 b. frazionato a metà annullato con griglia e segno di tassa, praticamente tutti con margini ampi, bel insieme. (Image)

1851 20c blue, a magnificent example in deep rich shade and with sheet margin at left, cancelled by dotted grid on refolded and reused 11.1.1853 cover from Savigliano to Garzigliana, with Pineerolo cds on back, and departure cds on front, superb; signed G. Bolaffi (1916) and cert. "Bolaffi 100" (1993). (Image)

1851-54, Group of three stamps incl. 1854 40c brick red with a clear strike of the scarce Aix-les-Bains (Savoy/Savoie) cds, cert. Cérès (2006) and signed A. Brun; 1851 20c blue used with special "Nodo di Savoia" cancellation on small piece, signed E.Diena & Behr; and 1854, 20c light blue, wide and balanced margins, with very fine Rumilly cds (Savoy), signed Behr and A. Brun. (Image)

1855-62 Sardinia group of eight items incl. 20c dark blue on 2.9.1859 used in Parma on cover to Piacenza during the second period of the Provisional Government (cert. Sorani), 1861-62 postal forgery 10gr. orange on cover from Naples to France (cert. Oliva), 1855-62 20c grey-blue tied by "Da Bologna ad Alessandria" TPO cds on cover to Verona (cert. Sorani), 1855-62 20c cobalt-green on cover from Calliano displaying this rare shade (cert. Sorani), 1855-63 20c greenish cobalt (scarce shade) on cover (cert. Sorani); 1855-63 20c greyish blue tied by Castelnuovo Levante cds on cover (cert. Sorani), 1855-63 20c blue pair cancelled on arrival by Marseille 1896 numeral in dots (cert. Oliva); as well as 1855-63 20c indigo incorrectly thought (Sorani cert.) to be tied by Maissana rosette cds; a great lot for the specialist and high catalogue value. (Image)

1855 (March-April) Two entire letters addressed to Celle and Nice, bearing single frankings of 1854 20c in dark greenish blue and indigo shades, being corner examples from the top and bottom right of sheet, tied by Porto Maurizio and San Remo cds's, one with very slight few tone spots, of great appearance; ex Daniele Zanaria private collection. (Image)

1857-61 Two covers to France bearing well margined 40c single franking, one sent to Bordeaux with framed "Francobollo/Insufficiente" hs and charged on receipt with "5" decimes, the other addressed to Evian. (Image)

1859 (Oct 3) Cover from Nice to Ferrara (Romagna), bearing 1859 40c carmine-rose, a delightful example with large margins, tied by "NIZZA MARA/I s" cds, repeated alongside, with Genoa and Ferrara backstamps, a rare postal rate sent during the "Governo Provvisorio" period; ex Daniele Zanaria private collection. (Image)

1859 Selection of 31 stamps unused and used, including a number of very fine examples like Sassone 3, 1 grana bruno ruggine VF used (1750€); Sa 4, 1 gr verde oliva grigiastro plate II, VF mint original gum (2000€); five VF 2 gr blue on piece etc... Also a interesting lot for plating. (Sassone €15'000+). (Image)

1859 20gr deep slate violet, good even margins, light framed cancel, very fine and scarce shade, cert. Colla (1993), Sismondo (2001); Sassone €8'000. (Image)

1859 50gr chocolate, pos. 70, good to large margins, cancelled by frame hs, a very fine example of this scarce and desirable shade, cert. E. Diena (1984); Sass. €20'000. (Image)

1851-52 1s ochre on blue, good to large margins, neatly cancelled by Firenze cds, small thin spot which looks to be part of the watermark which isn't mentioned by the certs, very fine; cert. E. Diena (1984) and Vaccari (2002); Sassone €3'000. (Image)

1851-52 1s orange on grey, very good even margins, mint o.g., a very fine example of this rare stamp mint; cert. Sorani (2012); Sassone €38'000. (Image)

60 CRAZIE SINGLE FRANKING ON COVER 1851-52 60cr deep scarlet on grey, a very fine example with exceptional margins for the most part displaying part of the neighboring frame lines on three sides, just slightly touched in part of the left margin, used on large registered cover from Livorno (Leghorn) to Milan, tied by "3 Mar 1858/Livorno" ornamental datestamp, with "P.D.", "Per Consegna" straight-line and "Dopo/La Partenza" two-line handstands, with receiving c.d.s. on reverse; one of the finest of only about five covers recorded bearing a single franking of the highest first-issue denomination and rarest stamp of Tuscany before the Provisional Government period; signed Enzo Diena and Alberto Bolaffi ("per esteso"). (Image)

1854 (Jul 27) Entire letter from Florence to Torphins, Scotland bearing 1851 1 cr. carmine (just touched at right) and horizontal strip of four 4cr green on greyish with clear to huge margins, tied by Firenze ds's, 2nd stamp from right affected by a light vertical crease and tear at base, boxed Torphins and Aberdeen bs's in green on reverse, an ink blob on obverse fails to detract from the appearance and very scarce overseas franking. (Image)

1860 Provisional Government 20c light greenish grey-blue, strip of three, unused without gum, usual margins for this stamp being touched on three sides, fresh and well preserved; multiples of this denomination are extremely rare, of even more scarcity in this case by possessing the rarest shade; signed A. Diena and Raybaudi, cert. Avi (2019); Sa. €45'000 for the single stamp with o.g. (Image)

1860 40c carmine, three examples of which two touched in places (one with natural pre-printing crease without significance and consequently not mentioned in the certificate), paying the double rate to Great Britain on 25.4.1860 cover from Leghorn to London, tied by "P.D." postmarks, one repeated alongside together with dispatch ds, erroneously taxed twice in manuscript and cancelled as it was fully prepaid, red "London/Paid" cds at right, some imperfections to cover, a very rare franking; cert. Bottacchi (2020); Sassone €68'750. (Image)