Eastern Auctions is to hold one of its greatest sales of this year offering a range of interesting lots from The Highlands Collection of British North America. The star of this auction is definitely 1851 12p Black on Handmade Laid Paper that is a highly desirable very fine used example of Canada's iconic stamp. This item is among the most coveted classic stamps of the whole British Empire. The lot is to fetch an incredible sum of $180,000.
The story of this remarkable stamp is quite exciting. It is known that a single order of 51,000 stamps was placed in May 1851. The same month the stamps were sent to the post offices and issued to the public in June. All in all 1,510 stamps were distributed among fourteen post offices. Only 1,450 examples were sold over a span of nearly 6 years. Those unsold were sent back and destroyed. Thus only used copies of this great rarity survived.
The lot offered by Eastern Auction features rich colour with characteristic bold impression on fresh paper with clear laid lines, surrounded by ample to superb margins. These superior attributes are supplemented with a sharp, nearly complete concentric rings cancellation. The stamp is a beautiful example of this iconic classic rarity that is among the very nicest postally used examples available.
