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Some
News and Views. . .
Another busy year here at Vance Auctions is coming to a close. Judging by strong auction results, internet activity, and busy stamp shows, I am pleased to report that the philatelic market is extremely robust as we head into 2025. It is great to see many new collectors coming into our great hobby.
On the 1st of July in 1867 the Provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia became the Dominion of Canada. The new country needed new stamps so in 1868 a beautifully engraved set bearing the likeness of Queen Victoria was issued in eight values from ½¢ to 15¢. At that time a letter weighing half an ounce
could be mailed within the country for 3¢. A letter sent west to British Columbia cost 10¢, and a letter sent to Great Britain by way of New York cost 15¢. This set of stamps later came to be known as Large Queens.
Over time the printing plates of the Large Queens started to deteriorate, and the most commonly used values, the 1¢ and the 3¢, were replaced by smaller but very similar Small Queens in 1870. Over the next 13 years more Small Queens were issued, either replacing Large Queens or introducing new values as postal rates changed. The last Small Queen, the 8¢ value issued in 1893, is the only value on which Queen Victoria is facing left.
The periods of usage of the two issues overlapped, and for almost 30 years letters mailed in Canada were carried by Large Queens and/or Small Queens. Printed in both Ottawa and Montreal on different presses on numerous occasions over this very long period of time, both sets provide many fascinating areas of interest. Studying the various shades, papers, cancels, plate varieties, perforations and watermarks keeps many a collector very well occupied.
We are pleased to be kicking off our 53rd year with another exciting sale of over 7,300 lots. We hope that you will enjoy looking through the diverse range of material in Sale #372. Due to the sheer quantity of lots there are bound to be a
lot of bargains for alert bidders.
 Besides the strong showings of Canada and the United States, you will find significant France, Germany, worldwide postal history, postcards, and Zeppelin material. There are
also hundreds of fine collections and large lots to choose from.
Make sure that you don’t miss
the Militaria section (Lots 7296 to 7314) which features fascinating collections of medals, insignia, and cap badges, etc.
Thank you for bidding with Vance Auctions in 2024. All of us wish you a happy holiday season,
and look forward to serving you in 2025.
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