| I have been involved with stamps nearly my entire life. | | | | hinged condition and as such, in top collectible condition. |
| My first collection was as a ten-year old boy collecting | | | | I eagerly went to the 2/6 and held it up to the light with |
| with my neighborhood buddies. By the time I was done | | | | my tongs. It was the thick paper.A good start.I couldn't |
| with it, I had more than 3,000 stamps in my collection | | | | tell if the watermark was vertical or horizontal and I |
| and sold it for the princely sum of 7.50 in 1958. I don't | | | | asked to borrow a dipping tray and watermark fluid. |
| remember what I did with the money. I think I treated | | | | The tray is black and when fluid is poured over the |
| my family to supper at the neighborhood burger joint.I | | | | stamp, the stamp paper becomes transparent and the |
| gave up on the hobby for about seven years and | | | | watermark will appear.I could hardly believe my eyes. I |
| took it up again as an adult. Where before I collected | | | | had to take another stamp from the set to compare it, |
| anything I found, I started to look for stamps in better | | | | but there it was. Watermark vertical!I looked up to find |
| condition and in sets. The first such set I bought was | | | | the woman who was showing the lots giving me an |
| from Vatican City for the 1962 Christmas celebration | | | | inquisitive look. Would she get a copy of the Gibbons |
| and paid all of 50c for it.Though a mere trifle, it was | | | | catalog and examine the stamp, too. If so, my |
| the first knowledgable purchase and only the beginning | | | | discovery would come out and someone else might |
| of a career that would involve the expenditure of | | | | decide to bid on it.I carefully replaced the stamps in |
| many thousands of dollars. Over the years I have | | | | their mount and handed the book back to her. The |
| bought many individual stamps and collections. The | | | | sale was nearly three weeks away and I couldn't wait |
| best buy I ever made turned a hundred and fifty | | | | around until then. I could either go back home and |
| dollars expenditure into a sixty-five hundred dollar | | | | make another trip or contact an agent to bid for me.I |
| sale.My first serious interest in stamps was as a | | | | decided on the agent. I gave him a bid of fifteen |
| general collector of British Colonies. Especially the | | | | hundred dollars on the lot to beat out anyone who |
| stamps of Malta. This interest led to a lifelong interest | | | | wanted the stamps but didn't know about the variety. |
| in the island and the writing of The Cellini Masterpiece | | | | My biggest concern is that one of the biggest Papua |
| under the pen name of Raymond John. Another of my | | | | collectors in the world was a local and if he got a look |
| interests was Papua New Guinea. Papua is an | | | | at the stamp, I would never be able to buy it. All I could |
| enormous island in the south Pacific and the site of | | | | hope was that he didn't get a copy of the catalog, or if |
| many battles during World War II. In 1901 the British | | | | he did, that he wouldn't show up to view the lot.The |
| issued stamps for the territory of British New | | | | next twenty days were the longest of my life. The |
| Guinea.These eight stamps showed a native ship | | | | night of the sale I called the agent. He said the starting |
| known as a Lakatoi and were printed on a variety of | | | | bid was 75.00. I didn't sleep that night and called him |
| papers with a watermark called a rosette which | | | | again early the next morning. I had won the bid at 150 |
| resembles a four-leafed flower. Early printers didn't | | | | plus 10%. A collector of British Oceania stamps had run |
| pay much attention to how the paper was seeded into | | | | up the price on me. The auction house would be |
| the printing presses, so the watermark, which has | | | | shipping my stamps the next day.The parcel arrived |
| longer petals on one side, could appear in two | | | | certified mail three days later. I contacted the Papua |
| positions. They also used thick and thin paper. Most of | | | | specialist, but he already had a copy and didn't want |
| the stamps were printed on watermark horizontal | | | | another one. A day later I sent it off to the British |
| paper with the short petals pointing up. They ranged | | | | Philatelic Association for a certificate. From there it |
| from one-half pence to pay the postage for letters | | | | would be included in a Christie's rarity sale. Four |
| sent within the colony to half a crown for heavy | | | | months later it sold for 3,800 pounds or approximaterly |
| parcels sent to Australia, Britain and the rest of the | | | | 6,500 US.Now you may ask why the auction house |
| world. One stamp, the 2/6 on thick paper and with the | | | | wasn't aware of the value of the stamp. For one thing, |
| watermark vertical is quite scarce and an expensive | | | | the house catalogued the stamp using the Scotts |
| stamp.In 1906 the British separated Papua from the | | | | catalog. Scotts is the standard American catalog and |
| rest of New Guinea and overprinted the remaining | | | | usually only lists a value for the most common variety. |
| stamps in stock with the word "Papua" in large serifed | | | | The watermark variety is listed in Gibbons, which is |
| type. Most of the thin paper stamps apparently had | | | | British, which includes many other color and watermark |
| been used up, leaving the vertical and horizontal | | | | varieties than the Scott catalogue. Another reason the |
| watermarks. The 2/6 with horizontal watermark and | | | | stamp may have been overlooked is that auction |
| vertical thin paper are common and sell for around a | | | | describers must look at thousands of stamps every |
| hundred dollars each. The watermark vertical, on the | | | | day. Even if he (here the gender denoter is correct, I |
| other hand, is a major rarity and catalogs for 6,000 | | | | know of only one female describer) has a Gibbons |
| British pounds in the Stanley Gibbons catalog. It is the | | | | catalog, most will not take the time to look for possible |
| scarcest stamp of Papua and missing from most | | | | varieties. In short, it is one of the things that makes the |
| collections. It is also a popular stamp and when offered | | | | hobby so fascinating. Anyone who has found a |
| it brings tremendous prices.In 1995 I was still a full-time | | | | valuable antique knows the feeling.Happy hunting!John |
| dealer and made regular buying trips through the | | | | Anderson is a retired dealer in stamps and collectibles. |
| midwest and the east. I happened to stop at a stamp | | | | He is now a full-time writer. His novel, The Cellini |
| auction house in the midwest and went through the | | | | Masterpiece, was published under the pen name of |
| lots which were arranged for viewing in small binders. I | | | | Raymond John by iUniverse in October of 2004 and is |
| was pleased to see the Papua overprints and I | | | | available in select bookstores and on the web. |
| eagerly inspected the set. It was in pristine, lightly | | | | |