NZ’s biggest annual stamp auction on Saturday

Media release – October 2, 2007

NZ’s biggest annual stamp auction on Saturday by Mowbray’s

A woman who bought $44 worth of Olympic Games stamps could be up to $40,000 richer this week after the annual Mowbrays international stamp auction in Wellington.

The woman bought the stamps from the Glenn Innes post office in Auckland in 2004 but when she got home she realised the stamps were defective, stamp dealer John Mowbray said today.

``Fortunately she forgot to go back for replacement stamps. The 22 $2 stamps show Peter Snell, but they are upside down. We estimate they will fetch between $30,000 and $40,000.’’

The October 5 and 6 auction will also see the biggest offering in the world of Full Face Queens. These early 1850s stamps are popular among collectors and 5000 of these will be up for auction this week.

The annual event is easily the biggest stamp auction ever held in New Zealand and is the only stamp and coin auction in New Zealand this year.

The sale is estimated to be worth more than $1.6 million and among the 1166 lots are over 350 collections including a large Gisborne collection of the late Jim Holdsworth.

One unusual item is a pre-stamped letter from Kaeo in Northland dated December 2, 1844.

Mowbrays have been auctioning for 30 years and they have the record for the most expensive stamp sold in New Zealand – a 1903 Taupo 4d stamp (with inverted centre) bought by NZ Post for $125,000 for an investment.

John Mowbray International is the largest stamp auction house in New Zealand. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mowbray Collectables, Australasia’s largest stamp dealers and listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

The listed stamp & collectables dealer and auction house reported an annual surplus this year of $584,000 before tax and goodwill amortisation.

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