WATCH: Postage collectors from around the world will have the chance to bid on a rare Vancouver Island stamp next month. Ceilidh Millar reports.
Michael Tarantino of AAA Stamp and Coin on Fort Street is always on the hunt for collectibles from around the world.
“We have these stamps from Zanzibar which are pretty unique,” says Tarantino, as he points to his collection for sale.
After years of collecting, the one stamp he’s always dreamed of owning will be up for auction next month.
It’s a postage stamp, issued in 1860, that was created for Vancouver Island when it was a British North America Crown colony.
“The stamp was created as a test [stamp] for the Island when it was a colony under Britain.”
The Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions in Danbury, Connecticut will be selling the “dull rose” coloured stamp.
The auction house estimates the winning bid will be between $10,000 to $15,000.
“We were going to be our own country or colony before we even joined British Columbia, which hadn’t even joined Canada yet.”
Tarantino says there were 20 stamps created during that time, but the edges of the first issue stamp are what make it unique.
“[The stamp] is flat lined instead of the perforated edges of the exact same stamp released five years later” said Tarantino.
The exceedingly rare stamp is cataloged at nearly $25,000.
“To be able to put a stamp from your home town as a country into an album would be pretty unique.”
Those interested will be able to bid for the stamp on May 2.
Ceilidh Millar
