Rare Russian and Chinese stamps lead $700,000 auction at Raritan

A total of over 1,500 lots are going under the hammer including rarities from all over the world

The auctioneer Raritan is holding another rare stamps sale in New Jersey - though it doesn't much matter where it is as live bidding is available exclusively through the telephone and internet.

The collections of 24 individuals were mixed into the melting pot of the sale, in which 1,523 lots of rare Worldwide Stamps and Postal History are going under the hammer. The British Commonwealth, People's Republic of China, Russia, Eastern and Western Europe are well represented.

Modern Errors and Freaks of the United States are also on offer, as are the stamps and postal history of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baltic States, Russian Crete, Georgia, Tannu Tuva, Ukraine, including modern rarities and Western Ukraine.

Brown and blue 10 kopek 1858 stamp Catalogue value: $18,000

In fact the Russian/Soviet section is definitely one of the best parts of the sale. On offer is a range of desirable Imperial postal stationery, postage stamps and covers.

Collectors of elusive RSFSR and Soviet Union piece would do well to seek them here. There are outstanding semi-postal and air post issues, dues and philatelic exchange tax stamps not to mention single lots and a collection of non-postal stamps, charity and Cinderella labels.

Often the most valuable lots in any sale, there is a magnificent foreign post offices abroad section, not to mention local stamps of the 1918-22 Civil War. There are even scarce items from the Fabergé, Kuznetsov and other renowned collections.

Shanghai surcharge 18c Chinese stamp block

The Asian section includes philatelic material from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and North Korea, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

In total, Raritan expects the sale to raise $700,000 when it takes place on December 3-4, though this seems conservative to us given some of the lots on offer from Russia and China. Investors interested in rare Chinese stamps might wish to take a look at this 1888 block of eight carmine stamps.