The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 31, July 30, 2006, Article 37

WILSON ARTICLE ON THE JUNE ANR SALE

John and Nancy Wilson wrote a nice article in the August 2006 issue
of Bank Note Reporter about the paper money in last month's American
Numismatic Rarities MidAmerica Sale.  With permission I'll reprint
some sections of the article dealing with my consignment.  It's
lengthy, but indulge me.  Many thanks to the Wilsons for
forwarding the text for The E-Sylum.  Their article has a great "you
are there" feel, and it accurately reflects the excitement and dynamics
of good auction action.

"The fabulous collection of Wayne K. Homren contained 34 Lots of
Encased Postage Stamps.  The collection saw strong bidding from
the book, floor, phone and Internet.  It is very unusual to see
this many encased postage stamps in one sale.  We commend Wayne for
putting together such a high grade collection of encased, that had
so many of the different issuers represented.

Frank Van Valen called the encased portion of the sale.  He had a
tough job, because bidding was coming from several areas of the
floor, Internet and some very determined phone bidders.  With
excellent descriptions, accurate grading, and all of the lots
depicted in vivid color, the results from the sale of encased were
very strong.  Some of the lots sold for extremely high, and more
than likely record prices.

ANR Staff Members handling the phone bidding were kept very busy
for some of the lots that the people they were representing wanted
very badly.   The Sand’s Ale .05 went for an absolutely crazy price.

The ANR staff, handling the phone bidding on the back wall were kept
extremely busy when the Sand’s Ale .05 in Lot 840 crossed the block.
It was described as, Encased postage. Sand’s Ale. Five cents. HB-207,
EP-90 & KL #EPS 169 Rarity 8 and described as basically XF.  The Ford
sale, which we attended, saw that .05 Sand’s Ale in ChXF (full silvering
on back) sell for $9,200 to a phone bidder.  Ironically, the Ford
example sold in this same room as the Homren example.

It opened at about 9:40 P.M. with a book bid of $3,100.  After receiving
this bid, the auctioneer looked over the room and saw several hands go
up to bid.  In the back of the room was a major token and medal dealer
who wanted the piece for either himself or a customer.   He wasn’t
successful and after the sale said that the price was very high.

As the bidding for this lot went over the $10,000 level, all heads in
the room were turned to the back wall with the phone bidding.  Up, up
and away the bidding went for the three phone bidders who wanted this
lot.  Everyone was getting whiplash turning around and looking at the
crazy phone bidders who were taking this piece to a level far surpassing
what its value should have been.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it closed to one of the
phone bidders to a round of applause from everyone in attendance.
The successful phone bidder probably went into shock after they
realized what price was paid for this lot.     The ANR staff members
handling the phone bidding probably got cauliflower ears from the
phones they held to their ears – over a long period.

The sale of this piece will long be remembered by us and everyone who
attended the sale.  Oh yes, the selling price was a whopping $18,400.
That is stupendous for a Sand’s Ale.  We were able to get the very rare
Ford .10 for $7,475 a few years ago.  If memory serves us right we paid
probably the buyers fee for our .05 Sand’s Ale some years back.  In any
instance the buyer of the .05 Sand’s Ale in this sale should be
commended for their tenacity in bidding for a scarce encased that
is rarely available.

Other highlights from the encased follow.  An Aerated Bread Co. .01
HB-1, EP-1 & KL #EPS 1  Rarity 7 in XF opened at $1,000 and sold for
$1,955.  A Joseph L. Bates .01 HB-49, EP-6A & KL #EPS 41 Rarity 6 in
XF to AU opened at $1,000 and after two phone bidders sought ownership,
one of them was successful at $2,300.  The F. Buhl & Co...01 HB-67,
EP-8 & KL #EPS 49 Rarity 8 opened at $1,000 and was fought over by a
floor bidder and the phone.  The phone was successful for $1,840.

A phone bidder was also successful for a .10 H. A. Cook HB-95, EP-108
& KL #EPS 76 Rarity 7 in XF.  After opening at $1,800, it sold for
$2,760.  Another hotly contested piece seeing strong bids from the
book, floor and phone was a John W. Norris .01 HB-184, EP-23 & KL
#EPS 155 Rarity 8 in XF.  Opening at $1,800, it was finally hammered
down for $3,450.

The phone ruled on the last three lots we will cover for the encased.
An N. G. Taylor .03 HB-26, EP-57 & KL #EPS 186 Rarity 8 in ChXF opened
at $1,800 and sold for $2,990.  A Weir & Larminie .10 HB-233, EP-133 &
KL #EPS 196 Rarity 5 opened at $1,500 and after another phone to phone
confrontation, it was finally sold for $2,760.  Finally, two phone
bidders fought for an important White the Hatter .01 HB-234, EP-30 &
KL #EPS 197 Rarity 7 in XF.  Opening at $1,700, it was hammered down
for $3,680.

Many in the room were shaking their heads after the last encased sold.
The prices realized for this section was excellent.  Anyone who was a
successful bidder probably got the pieces they went after – but – had
to pay very high prices.  Only two of the encased lots didn’t sell, and
many went to the phone bidders.  Four phones were set up and active
throughout the sale of encased.  Only two of the encased didn’t sell
and 12 lots went to the strong book.

Nineteen lots of emergency lots from the Civil War will close out our
coverage of this ANR sale.  These lots were all from the Wayne K. Homren
collection.  Of great importance were three encased postage stamp
envelopes that were used to hold stamps.  This emergency issue is very
scarce and in great demand from not only coin and paper money collectors,
but also philatelists.  A .15 Joseph Bryan 214 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
listed in Drowne (AJN 1918) & KL #9-15 in XF opened at $1,100 and sold
to a phone bidder for $2,300.  The KL reference has a price of $725.
Yes, the phone was active in this session also.  The .25 J. Leach 86
Nassau St. N.Y. Drowne (AJN, 191) & KL #60-25 in ChXF opened at $830
and sold to the phone for $1,495.  The KL reference has a price of $575.
The phone was also successful on the Leach .30 same address as above
(Drowne (AJN 1918) & KL #59-30 in ChXF.  It had a different layout then
the other Leach that sold in the last lot.  After opening at $850, it
sold for $1,725.  The KL reference has a price of $650 for this envelope.
 All of these were purchased by Wayne from a Kevin Foley price list that
was issued in 1985.  We also purchased some of these envelopes from the
Foley price list at that time.  These are scarce items that rarely appear
in auctions.

Fifteen lots of emergency card board scrip from the Civil War era were
highlighted by a lot containing a pair of Civil War era cardboard scrip
issues by Charles A. Drach, New York City.  They are listed in Rulau
with no numbers assigned.  Both of these pieces were graded at VF, and
once light mounted.  Opening at $200, they sold for $552.  An amazing
set of .01, .02 & .03 Mathews & Brothers, Druggists, New York City
listed in Rulau went for a very strong price.  Opening at $260, they
sold for $414.

It wasn’t mentioned but on the back of some of the issues they are
semi-postally cancelled.  They are available for prices that we think
are lower then the price paid for this lot.  A Hugh Shull Price list
from 2005 has two examples for sale at about $45 each.  We purchased
our set years back for about $40.  Bidding fever and excellent
cataloging can sometimes bring outstanding prices.  All of the
emergency issues sold for what we think are very good prices.  Not
much is written on these cardboard Civil War issues, and when more
is, their popularity will make these prices seem reasonable.

It was an excellent sale that we enjoyed covering for Bank Note
Reporter.  The ANR staff is top notch, and the catalog itself is
a real keeper."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum