dowager1894

I viewed the three Dowager narraw space surcharge 30 c on 24 cn stamps held by John Bull auction on 14 to 15 June 2008.

Lot #191, claimed to be first printing with a famous philatelist chop Mr. F.Z. Chen, is actually 3rd print.

Lot #192 is first print. This stamp was offered by Shreves Auction in the States on 30 Sep 2005 and was sold at USD75,000 plus 15% commission to a famous Stamp company, mystic Stamps, in the States. It was then re-offered in Zurich Asia's Auction in HK on 28 June 2007 and was sold at HKD650,000 + 15%.

Lot #197 is, no doubt, a 3rd print.

I talked with Mr. Ian Hui of John Bull after the auction and learnt that all three stamps were unsold. There were open bid for these stamps and, in fact, the reserve price. No body submitted a bid and the stamps were called back.