The North Borneo Gems of 2010 in ebay

at 11:09 PM Posted by Marcel |


"The Gems of 2010"

<>As we left 2010 behind, the records remain. Over the year, many interesting items turned up and high realisation prices achieved. The following list shows the most wanted and coveted philatelic materials of North Borneo in ebay for the whole of 2010, based on the final price. Of course price alone does not necessarily reflects rarity, and other factors such as supply and demand as well as the economic condition at that time play a pivotal role in determinng the overall desirability. We've gone through the economic uncertainty at one stage in 2010, it probably has settled down a bit but around that time, although the rare items remained expensive, some of the common ones became much more affordable. This list serves as a future reference not only for the rare items of North Borneo and Labuan but also the price trend throughout the year. 
Some items were expected to reign the top 10 while others may never reach the same realisation in ebay at least for the time being due to increasingly more supplies. This in general is good for the collector, items becoming cheaper and hopefully the trend will continue. The rare items though remain in their own class, not affected much by the economic conditions. As we are now in a new year, hopefully many interesting items turn up and listed.
Rank
Picture
Description
Remarks


1



                                                                                                       
$961
(£617)


This lot surprisingly came first of all the other lots, stamps or covers. In January 2010, this is not very surprising but now after 1 year, this kind of mint lot, no matter how perfect they are, probably won't achieve the same realisation (at least not in ebay). This lot illustrates the steep downward trend of the price. It steadily devalues from $961 in Jan 2010 to $460 in August the same year. Now, the whole issue from 1c. to $5 probably won't even sell for $400. Nevertheless, the issue remains one of the most wanted North Borneo stamps issues. The engraved design gives it an extra appeal and the colourful designs make it one of the finest North Borneo engraved stamps.    


Ended January 2010


Seller:
arce12340


From:
South Africa


3 bids





2



  
            

$898
(£577)


This one stamp rules ebay in 2010. It is the single most expensive stamp in ebay throughout the year. This is SGJ15 in S. Gibbons with violet overprints. The catalogue value is only
£500. We know that in ebay, prices rarely realised above the SG catalogue, but this stamp did. The perfect perforations, the mathematically centered design and the clean surface must be the primary reasons. Furthermore, in addition to that the seller also offered the certificate of authenticity from RPSL.






Ended October 2010

Seller:
Marys-gems

USA

23 bids




3




 






$762
(£489)

This airmail cover of the first flight of North Borneo remains the most expensive cover in 2010. The unique boxed cachet is very attractive and eye-catching. For only a month in 1930, the airmail cover is one of the most celebrated and coveted cover of all. This particular cover is addressed to Mr. H. A. Dabell, the then postmaster of North Borneo. 







Ended
February 2010

Seller:
apsguy88

USA

4 bids




4




























$717
(£461)

This is another interesting cover from the Japanese occupation period (1942-1945). The cover is addressed to the Lahad Datu post office (c/o postmaster) and is franked with 3 North Borneo stamps including the 1c. "War Tax" stamp overprinted with the Japanese characters which translate "Imperial Japanese Government or Dai Nippon Teikoku Seifu". Tied neatly with the circular Japanese cancels in violet from Sandakan dated "20.04.1942". The most remarkable aspect of the cover is probably the vivid censor mark in violet and red, applied in Sandakan Central Post Office.

Ended April 2010

Seller:
Sarawakiana

Malaysia

10+ bids




5





$676
(£434)

Next comes this $10 stamp of 1911 issue overprinted with black "Red Cross two cents" for the 1918 issue. For mint, the SG Cat value is
£425. This is again, in excess of the Gibbons' price although very slightly. The perfect centering and perforations as well as the fresh and clean look all contribute to the high realisation. Nevertheless, barely a month after being listed, a similar $10 stamp with the overprint was again listed in December and only managed to get
£275 final price. Who knows what the price would be the next time the stamp appear again, could it be up or down or remains the same?


 
Ended October 2010

Seller:
Marys-gems

USA

21 bids




6






                                                                



$655
(£421)

This is to my knowledge one of the most interesting covers in ebay because not only that it bears the very rare "A.R." postmark, it also defies Proud's recorded usage of such postmark. Proud recorded the A.R. mark to be in use from 16.9.11 - 6.3.29, but this cover has it on 09.09.1901, which means that the cover probably bears the earliest usage of "A.R" mark known. I'm not sure though if there's any more information regarding the A.R. mark but I think this alone should be enough to make the cover one of the gems of North Borneo postal history. In addition to that the colourful frankings, the arrival registration mark in red and the general feel of the cover makes it a great showpiece!

Ended February 2010

Seller:
apsguy88

USA

4 bids




7






                                                                 


$625
(£401)

This lot is the complete set (almost) of 1909 and 1911 combined, just short the 18c. green stamp of Banteng without the "20 cents" surcharge. For mint never hinged and overall good condition, it is no surprise that the lot reached a high hammer price. In January 2010, the MLH $10 stamp reached $360 realisation, while in May it reached $310. In 2011, the market may remain strong for such a stamp.

Ended September 2010

Seller:
angloamericanappraisal

USA

4 bids




8




                                                                 



$620
(£398)

The blue registered cover of Labuan is no. 8 in the list. It is an interesting showpiece, franked with Labuan stamps of 8c. 2 times 10c. and one 20c., with registration mark of Labuan and London.

Ended February 2010

Seller:
apsguy88

USA

4 bids




9






                                                                 
$610
(£392)

This cover is unique because of the mixed franking of Brunei stamps and Labuan stamp. It is a registered cover from Brunei to London via Labuan, dated 19 Jul 1895. $610 is a reasonable price realisation for such a cover as I have seen two similar mixed franking covers  addressed to Mr. F. R. Parker on 22 and 23 July 1895, both of which ended with close to $800 final price. The fact that the cover is sold from Bulgaria is another interesting aspect about the cover (unrelated of course...).




Ended December 2010

Seller:
Butterman3598

Bulgaria

14 bids




10






                                                                 
$599
(£385)

Last but not least is this 1918 issue of $5 overprinted in black "red cross two cents". Beautiful stamp with well preserved perforations. 


Ended January 2010

Seller:
stampmalaya

USA

1 bid


Comments, improvements and additional information are welcome!