First Auction of William H. Gross U.S. Stamp Collection Breaks Record for Single Day Sale with Over $10 Million Realized
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First Auction of William H. Gross U.S. Stamp Collection Breaks Record for Single Day Sale With Over $10 Million Realized First of four sales by leading stamp auction house Siegel Auction Galleries of the legendary Gross Collection demonstrates the ongoing vitality of the philatelic market. NEW YORK, October 4, 2018 — Last night, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries (Siegel) realized $10,003,155 in the first of four sales of prominent financier William H. Gross’s U.S. Stamp Collection, the largest and most valuable private collection of U.S. stamps in the world. Returning treasures of philately to the market not available for decades, the sale was marked by the strong participation of hundreds of seasoned and new collectors from all over the globe who bid in-person, online, and over the phone. The auction featured 106 lots of U.S. postal history spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlights of the sale include (price contains buyer’s premium): • The 24-cent 1869 Pictorial Inverted Center ($737,500) • The 2-Cent Blue Hawaiian ($619,500) • The largest unused block of the 10-cent 1847 First General Issue, also known as The Bible Block ($590,000) • The block of twenty 1-cent Pan-American invert ($472,000) • The only recorded unused block of the 1857 5-cent Jefferson Perforated Stamp ($472,000) Siegel Director Charles Shreve, who served as Mr. Gross’s stamp collecting advisor, noted, “After having assisted Mr. Gross for over 25 years assembling his magnificent collection, I am pleased to see so many new collectors were eager to participate—and participate vigorously—at his first U.S. auction. For an auction of so many high-profile items, the participation was excitingly broad. The results were most impressive.” “With almost every lot sold and realizations over our estimate, this $10 million stamp auction attracted more collectors than any sale I’ve been involved in during my 38 years in this business,” added Siegel President Scott R. Trepel. “It was a truly unprecedented night for philately.” Noted collector and auction participant Gordon Eubanks remarked, “Stamps have played a pivotal role across the history of the United States. The landmark success of last night’s William H. Gross U.S. Auction demonstrates their continued importance and will define philately for the future.” William H. Gross has committed some of the proceeds from the auction to Doctors Without Borders and The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. This follows the $9.1 million dollars Gross donated to Doctors Without Borders following the 2007 sale of his Great Britain Stamp Collection. He plans to announce additional donations stemming from the sale at a later date. The remaining sales of the Gross Collection are scheduled to be held in 2019 and 2020. ABOUT WILLIAM H. GROSS A prominent bond investor, William H. Gross was the second person, after Robert Zoellner in the 1990s, to form a complete collection of 19th-century United States postage stamps. In 2013, Gross provided The Smithsonian National Postal Museum with a $10-million gift to create the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, the largest stamp gallery in the world. The 12,000 square-foot gallery dramatically increased exhibition space and public access to collections. It displays rare philatelic treasures such as the 1918 “Inverted Jenny” airmail stamp, and hundreds of pullout frames, containing more than 20,000 objects that provide opportunities for visitors to view noteworthy stamps that have never before been on public display. Gross is a Portfolio Manager at the Janus Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond and Total Return Fund. Gross co-founded PIMCO in 1971 and served as managing director and chief investment officer until joining Janus in 2014. He received his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles and his bachelor’s degree from Duke University. He lives in Newport Beach, California. ABOUT ROBERT A. SIEGEL AUCTION GALLERIES Since its founding in 1930, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries has become one of the highest-grossing stamp auction companies in the world and is the leading auctioneer of U.S. stamps. Since its first signature “Rarities of the World” auction, designed to bring together a small number of extremely rare and valuable items for a major annual auction event, the company has not only sold many of the world’s rarest and most sought-after stamps, it has spawned entire generations of collectors. The first Rarities auction featured a unique centerline block of the 24-cent “Inverted Jenny”—one of the most famous and expensive stamps in the world. Under Scott R. Trepel’s leadership as president, Siegel Auction Galleries has generated over half a billion dollars in sales. Trepel is an authority in philately, producing thoroughly researched catalogues for auctions of some of the most prestigious stamp collections in the world, including the Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii collection, the Robert Zoellner U.S. collection, the Alan B. Whitman U.S. collection, and the Twigg-Smith Pony Express collection. The firm’s website is also a valuable research platform for experienced and novice collectors alike, offering census data for rarities, scholarly research articles, pricing data, and additional information. For more information on the firm and upcoming sales, please visit siegelauctions.com. Media Contacts: Resnicow and Associates Andrew Gelfand Josh Balber [email protected] [email protected] 212-671-5178 212-671-5175 .