Ebay Reviews the Last few weeks
Introduction
Looking back in ebay several weeks ago, many interesting items appeared. It is apparent that demand for good quality and rare stamps from this country remains strong and shows no sign of abating anytime soon. It is likened to the unstoppable rise of the Chinese stamps in recent years. The most recent Stanley Gibbons catalogue of 2012 documents this quite clearly with many British Borneo (N. Borneo, Sarawak, Labuan and Brunei) show significant increase in catalogue pricing compared to, for example, Straits Settlement and other traditional 'philatelic' countries.
Here's some of the more interesting stuffs that I think worth having a second look:
1. Kudat D2
This interesting Kudat cancel yielded a finishing price of £95.88 after 7 bids. Appeared and ended in ebay on 15.01.2012. The date is "A 6 FE 1890". We know that there are many varieties on the Kudat D2 postmark, for example (a) The year code is strucked in two digits from 01.01.1894; (b) The time code (which is either A or P) invariably omitted from about 09.06.1895; and (c) Usually strucked in blue ink from about 10.03.1894 to 09.06.1895.
This Kudat D2 postmark however, only bears the first two digits of the year plug. As can be seen, the year is completed with a pen, making it 1890. This is not documented in Proud's postal history book. I'm not sure of the relative rarity of such a cancellation but surely, varieties are the spice of life and my guess is that it's not terribly common at all.
2. Royal Dutch Airlines (K.L.M) via Singapore / via Alor Setar
Registered mail from Sandakan to England carried by the Royal Dutch Airline (K.L.M) in 1936 via Singapore. The rate is 75 cents franked with 10c, 16c, 24c and 25c stamps of 1926-28 issue. Registration fee in 1936 to all destinations was 15c. The KLM service to Great Britain was 60 cents, making the overall cost of sending a registered letter using this service to Britain to be 75c. Ended on 13.01.12 in ebay at £280.
Apart from the usual delivery, mails were accepted for airmail transmission via KLM by 1932. A postal notice published in 1932 stated that all letters for this service was to bear a special "BY AIR MAIL" blue label.
This interesting cover appeared in ebay and ended on 29.01.12 with a final price of £348. The cover is franked with Straits Settlement stamps of 50c. and 5c. (55c.) and cancelled Labuan 17 May 1934. Sent to Wales.
The cover is also inscribed in red ink, "By Royal Dutch Air Lines, KLM. Singapore - Alor Setar - London service". Affixed with the blue airmail label required for all KLM flights.
3. Labuan SG12 6c. on 16c. blue
Nice Labuan stamp with two upright surcharge of "6" cents in dim red ink. Cancelled with dotted Labuan K1 cancel in red, somewhat concealing the surcharges. This stamp was listed in ebay and ended on 12.02.2012 at US$385.00 after 15 bids.
4. Registered Jesselton 1928 cover with Jesselton GPO and R10 marks
This magnificient cover appeared in ebay on 7 Feb 2012 and ended after 10 days with a suprisingly 'low' final price of €266!
The cover is franked with 10 stamps (1c.x 3; 2c. x 2; 3c. x 3 and 4c. x 2) i.e. 24 cents, all cancelled with the rare Jesselton R10 (in use from 22.02.28 - 10.12.30) dated 7 AUG 1928. Note also of the faint Jesselton GPO mark at the left lower corner. White Jesselton registration label is affixed on the lower left.
At the back shows a myriad of other cancellations including three red wax seals. The one on the right shows a nice imprint of the North Borneo coats of arms. The Singapore registration mark shows a date of 13 AU 1928. The Jesselton R10 cancel on this cover is black compared to Patrick Cassels' collection auction 2008 (No. 278) which bears a violet ink.
5. Bandau postmark on Malaysia FDC
This FDC is expensive because of the postmark. I doubt it would reach its final price of US$63 if usual cancellation was applied. Bandau postmark was used, according to Proud, from 11.12.1962 to approx. 15.09.63. Very little is known about Bandau as a town and incidentally if you google 'Bandau' it will show another village in Germany.
6. Sadong cancel on Sarawak Postal Stationery
Now a little bit of interesting Sarawak item. This one is a 3-cents postal stationery of Sarawak, addressed to Singapore. The most interesting part is of course the rare "SADONG" D2 postmark dated 29 Nov 1899. Ended at a stagerring final price of US$ 611.67 after 13 bids!
The postal stationery is Sarawak's first postal stationery, which was only produced after the country joined the U.P.U in 1897. It bears a 3-cents value showing the Rajah's face (believed to be from a photo taken when he was 57 years old). Sadong as a post office was opened in the early 1890s but was later transferred to Simunjan in 1937.
