Strong Results For Signature Auction: The Hay Morgan Collection Part I

Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s was proud to present Part 1 of The Hay Morgan Collection of KGV on 30 October 2024. One of the most complete King George V Commonwealth collections ever assembled, The Hay Morgan Collection contains almost every mint Commonwealth stamp issued during King George V’s reign – including most of the major errors, many plate examples, important proofs, numerous sets and stamps in blocks, as well as some rare covers. 

Following on from the exceptional results across all four parts of The Phillips Collection of Great Britain (with a total combined sales value of over £2 million), the multi-sale auction approach is being rolled out again for The Hay Morgan Collection, which will run for 6+ months. This considered approach is testament to the SGB specialists expertise in handling advanced stamp collections ensuring maximum value is achieved.

The Hay Morgan collection of KG V has been built up by a British collector over the past 40 years. Like many philatelists, he caught the collecting bug from his father who was a lifelong stamp collector focused primarily on King George VI Commonwealth stamps. The collection was started in the early 1980s with a focus on Nevis, following his honeymoon there with his wife. It was then gradually expanded to cover the whole of King George V Commonwealth.

“It’s always a privilege to auction Signature collections such as Hay Morgan. A life’s work for a passionate collector translates into a fascinating and varied auction series which captures the imagination of bidders the world over.” – Iain Murphy, Managing Director of Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s

The highlight of the sale was Lot 104, the 1912-25 1000r purple/red, from upper left corner with plate number '1', superb o.g. Mounted in margin only. A magnificent positional example of this very rare and spectacular high value, which seldom appears on the market, it is a true showpiece of Commonwealth philately. Estimated at £20,000 – 25,000, the item ultimately sold for 33,600 including fees.

Further highlights from the sale:

• Lot 124 – Falkland Islands 1933 Centenary 5s black and yellow-orange block of 4. 1933 Centenary 5s black and yellow-orange, upper right corner block of 4 from the small second printing, fine o.g. with three stamps remaining unmounted, a rare positional piece. Estimated at £8,000 – 10,000, the item sold for £18,000 including fees. 
• Lot 168 – India 1925 official 1r on 25r error surcharge inverted. Official. 1925 1r on KGV 25r orange and blue, type O14 surcharge, error SURCHARGE INVERTED, large part o.g. with faintly toned gum as often. Spectacular and rare. Estimated at £2500 – 3,000, the item sold for £4,800 including fees.
• Lot 215 – KUT 1925 colour trials x10. 1925 series of eight 1s colour trials, perf 14 on Script wmk paper (wmk upright) in the colours adopted for the additional 1925 values to the 1922-27 set, in brown (2s50), grey (4s), orange-yellow (7s50), purple and yellow (£3), black and magenta (£4), red and green (£20), purple and grey (£75) and red and black (£100), plus a further two examples in blue and magenta, and magenta and grey, presumably rejected colour combinations for the new £4 (issued in black and magenta) and £75 (issued in purple and grey) values, odd blemishes (short perfs, '£4' with tiny surface mark) nevertheless a spectacular and extremely rare series, part to large part o.g. ('4s' without gum). Estimated at £4,000 – 5,000, the item sold for £12,000 including fees.
• Lot 260 – Trengganu 1921-41 $100 green and scarlet. Estimated at £5,000 – 6,000, the item sold for £7,800 including fees.
• Lot 451 – Sudan 1912-22 Army Service set of 8 to 10p. Army Service. 1912-22 original set of 8 to 10p, ordinary paper (exclg 2pi purple and orange-yellow), perf 'AS', in blocks of 4, unmounted o.g. (except upper pair of 3m), some low values with faintly toned gum nevertheless an outstanding group of this issue, with five blocks marginal, the 1m, 5p and 10p each with full interpane margin above (showing additional strikes of the perfin). Estimated at £2,000 – 2,500, the item sold for £6,000 including fees.

“It’s always a privilege to auction Signature collections such as Hay Morgan. A life’s work for a passionate collector translates into a fascinating and varied auction series which captures the imagination of bidders the world over.” – Iain Murphy, Managing Director of Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s