Stanley Gibbons Auctions to include Great Britain King George V Collection sold on behalf of “Tearfund” charity

Stanley Gibbons’ first public auction of 2012, sale number 5865, is to be held at 399 Strand, London, on Thursday 22nd March, featuring a fine collection of British stamps and covers issued during the reign of King George V (offered as 310 lots); the proceeds of which are being donated to the “Tearfund” charity.

“Tearfund” which operates in over 50 countries around the world is a “Christian international aid and development agency working globally to end poverty and injustice, and to restore dignity and hope in some of the world’s poorest communities”.

Overall the sale which comprises some 1300 lots includes stamps and covers from Great Britain, British Commonwealth and Foreign countries. The selection of China is smaller than in recent sales but includes the ever popular 1962 Stage Art of Mei Lan-fang min sheet (SG MS2044a) and an extremely fine used example of the rare 1968 ‘The Whole Country is Red’ 8f (SG 2403a) - which was withdrawn from sale very quickly after it was realised that Taiwan was in white.

There is a very strong selection of Falkland Islands material and two very rare early covers from the Norfolk Islands in the Commonwealth section. The Great Britain section of the auction has a good range of items from pre-stamp to QEII which includes a ‘magnificent’ collection of mostly illustrated first day covers in 29 albums, from 1924 to 2004, including many scarce sponsored, operational and slogan postmarks, there is also an extensive range of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Sandringham postmarks and several signed and souvenir covers.

Download Auction Catalogue >

Public viewing for the auction will be available at 399 Strand from Monday 19th to Wednesday 21st March. Private viewing is available prior to public viewing by appointment only. Live online bidding will also be available through the-saleroom.com; Europe’s leading portal for art and antiques auctions. Before the auction you can use the system to browse the online catalogue and place commission bids; during the auction lots appear on your screen as they are offered in the room and you can hear your bids being acknowledged by the auctioneer via our live audio feed. You can register for free at www.the-saleroom.com.