Upper Silesia. 1920 Inter-Allied Commission, a spectacular array of the C.I.H.S. handstamps, seldom
Upper Silesia. 1920 Inter-Allied Commission, a spectacular array of the C.I.H.S. handstamps, seldom seen in any quantity, let alone mint and used complete as here. The mint alone catalogues £20,000, and all are signed Haertel, however in our opinion the strikes of the handstamp generally appear too crisp and we have assumed these to be forgeries, with the important exception of the red types, which are mentioned but unpriced in SG. The main event though is the used, all tied on piece from various sources by Oppeln postmarks between the 15th and 19th of Feb., showing the characteristic blotchy ink of the genuine handstamps. All are signed, however most promising are the 5pf, 15pf, 30pf, 35pf and 40pf Germanias each with multiple signatures including the respected Gunnar Gruber (BPP) on each. Catalogue for the used is a further £40,000, yet we have confined our estimate only to the five Germania issues mentioned above, with cat. £2,400. Massive potential here.