tradition and experience in classic philately since 1919

press Release December 2021

Rarities and Records: The Corinphila auction series in Zurich was consistently thrilling 

From 19 to 26 November 2021, a veritable feast of philately took place in Zurich with Corinphila auctions 274 to 283. The top quality worldwide material offered by the traditional Swiss house comprised an outstanding variety with over 7,000 auction lots in ten auction catalogues, including many first-class rarities from Switzerland to the whole world. The 'tailwind' for the hobby of philately, which has been noticeable especially since the Corona pandemic, and the strong demand for rare and high-quality stamps and covers has continued unabated. This was fully demonstrated by many realisations in all collecting areas. Thanks to the great participation of bidders from all over the world who, in addition to "classic" auction participation, used the possibility of "online live bidding", exciting bidding battles were the order of the day in the Zurich auction room. At the end of a successful auction week, the Corinphila team was delighted with the many record prices and top hammer prices in all areas.
ERIVAN collection with impressive realisations
One of the highlights of the auction week was undoubtedly the inclusion of 36 valuable, selected lots of Swiss classics from the ERIVAN collection. As expected, this third Swiss auction from the estate of the entrepreneur Erivan Haub continued the incomparable success story. No less than three lots attained six-figure hammer prices, including the top lot, the famous "Decan Schinz cover" with a pair of Zurich 4 rp., which was knocked down for CHF 270,000 (Lot 3 - starting price: CHF 200,000). A vertical - reverse cut - pair of the Double Geneva on a front doubled its starting price from CHF 100,000 to CHF 200,000. The third cover in the trio was a beautiful pair of the 2½ rp. POSTE LOCALE without framed cross, and this also achieved double its starting price of CHF 60,000 to CHF 120,000. The lots from the ERIVAN collection as a whole enjoyed remarkable increases, often double or treble their starting prices. 
Desirable European and worldwide philatelic material
Thanks to the huge international demand, there were also many spectacular bidding "battles" and increases of many times the starting price in the field of worldwide philately and postal history. One example was the Pietro Provera collection, which presented an exceptional cross-section of the collecting areas of Italy, France, European States, Great Britain and colonies. The same applied to the majority of the various other collections and top items, for example from South and Central America or the British Commonwealth including former British island colonies in the Pacific. The other highlights, including various "more exotic" areas such as Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Maldives, Bushire, Brunei and Rhodesia, also appealed to many enthusiasts and met with a good response due to their variety of material, which could already be admired in advance in the form of special catalogues or special parts in the main catalogue. 
Philatelic trends and developments
"The tailwind for philately during the Corona crisis continues", as Corinphila managing director Karl Louis summed it up succinctly after the auction. The interest of buyers, especially in the field of classic philately, remains high and top prices for issues of this period are no exception. The fact that there has been a strong demand for valuable unused stamps in the field of "traditional" philately for several years was confirmed once again. Another trend that has been evident for some time is the increased interest in covers that stand out because of their aesthetic appeal. Items in perfect condition, whose stamps and postmarks have been applied upright and accurately, and which also have neat handwriting, are highly sought after by collectors. Such collectors' items, which meet the highest standards, often fetch prices well above catalogue estimates due to the great interest of buyers.
Short-term price increases: Chile stands out
An example of a short-term, positive price increases in connection with the currently high demand can be seen in the collecting area of Chile. In 2019, the Joseph Hackmey collection was offered and successfully sold at Corinphila. One of the buyers now also consigned his collection and so ten lots "ex Hackmey" were offered again in this auction. Many of these - only three lots fetched slightly less than two years ago - achieved results that were in some cases well above the 2019 prices. A total hammer price for the ten lots of CHF 25,650 in 2019 now stood at CHF 37,800. This corresponds to a considerable increase of just under 50%.
"Online live bidding" - an indispensable guarantee of success
At this point we would also like to point out once again the participation of online bidders, who once again guaranteed the auction's success with the highest sales quota and highest hammer prices. Consignors considering the sale of their collections benefit by choosing an auction house that includes the enormous potential demand from worldwide online live bidders. For the current figures prove once again that the enthusiasm of customers and the willingness to invest in high-quality philatelic material knows hardly any bounds, provided that an auction house offers the technical prerequisites for participation.
 
All the results of the auction are available online at www.corinphila.ch.
The next Corinphila auction series will take place in Zurich from 30 May to 4 June 2022 (closing date for consignments 4 March 2022). For further information, please contact: Corinphila Auktionen AG, Wiesenstrasse 8, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 (0)44 389 9191, Fax +41 (0)44 389 9195, email: info@corinphila.ch, Internet: www.corinphila.ch
 
Illustrations
 
ERIVAN collection 
Lot 3: Zurich 1843, Zurich 4, a pair on cover from the 'Decan Schinz correspondence'. Hammer price: CHF 270,000 (starting price: CHF 200,000).
Lot 8: Geneva 1843, vertical reverse-cut pair of the Double Geneva on a cover front. Hammer price: CHF 200,000 (starting price: CHF 100,000).
Lot 19: 1850, LOCAL POST without lined cross, a pair on cover. Hammer price: CHF 120,000 (starting price: CHF 60,000).
Switzerland & Liechtenstein
Lot 200: 1845, 'Basle Dove', a pair on piece. Hammer price: CHF 125,000 (starting price: CHF 50,000).
The Ing. Pietro Provera collection (Part III) 
Lot 6058: Austrian Levant, 1867, hammer price: CHF 17,000 (starting price: CHF 12,000).
Lot 6340: New Brunswick: 1851/60, 6d yellow, a quadrisect and a complete single stamp on cover to London. Hammer price: CHF 28,000 (starting price: CHF 15,000).
Lot 6598: Sicily, 1859, 20gr., 10gr. and 5gr. used on cover to Paris. Hammer price: CHF 17,000 (starting price: CHF 3,000).
'BESANCON' collection – British Pacific island colonies
Lot 8042: New Guinea, 1916, 2½d. indigo, vertical strip of three. Hammer price: CHF 38,000 (starting price: CHF 30,000).
'BESANCON' collection – Ceylon & Maldives