The Søllested Stamps
For most people, the name "Søllested" will evoke thoughts of the cozy small railway town at Lolland, located on the train route between Nakskov and Maribo. However, for philatelists, the name immediately brings to mind some of Denmark's rarest and most iconic stamps – namely the so-called "Søllested stamps."
At the year's biggest stamp Online Auction on Sunday 2 November at 3 pm two "Søllested stamps" will be among the highlights. Both stamps are in pristine condition and are sold with certificates of authenticity. The estimated values are DKK 50,000 each. One stamp is marked "SØLLESTED 8.1.1907" and was first mentioned in philatelic literature in 1968 as part of a find of four stamps, published by the then prominent Copenhagen-based stamp dealer, Robert Bechsgaard. The other is marked "SØLLESTED 12.10.1906" and was reportedly discovered in an Aarhus-based "boy's collection" around 1990.
|
The Postmaster who ignored the rulesWhen Denmark issued a new stamp in the Coat of Arms design in 1902, printed in purple colour and with a denomination of 15 øre, they were, of course, also sent to the small post office in Søllested at Lolland. One of the issued sheets of stamps, however, turned out to be imperforated due to an error. Although regulations mandated that imperforated sheets should be returned to the main post office in Copenhagen to prevent them from entering the market, the Postmaster in Søllested chose not to "embarrass" the postal authorities unnecessarily. Instead, he instructed his postal clerks to cut the stamps from the sheet and sell them as usual to customers. Thus, one of Denmark’s greatest philatelic rarities was created. |
The fame of the stamps
As early as 1907, the unissued 15-øre stamps were mentioned in a brief note in NFT (Nordic Philatelic Journal), but it would take another 15 years before they were mentioned again. This time in the form of an auction result from the firm Kurt Maier in Berlin, which allegedly sold a pair for 110,000 Marks – a fortune at the time. It was also here that the unissued stamps were named "Søllested Stamps”.
Today, more than 100 years have passed since the stamps were released on the market. Currently, only 18 copies are known, making it quite a rarity that we are presenting two of these treasures at the auction. Both stamps originate from a larger collection of Danish stamps that had remained unnoticed for many years.
For further information, please contact:
|
|
Christian GrundtvigChristian Grundtvig
Stamps & Coins
Head of department / Glostrup
|
Error:
00