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August 10, 2025 | Auction report of the German Stamp Review
62. Christoph-Gärtner Auction: High bids for early letters from France
The 62nd Christoph-Gärtner Auction, held from June 2 to 6, 2025, featured exciting bidding duels, strong hammer prices, and generated great interest both in Germany and abroad. Eye-catching highlights included two collections from passionate philatelist Karl Heinz Schrader: “Great Britain” and “Old German States” were presented in appealing special catalogs. Pieces from these collections achieved some substantial increases. But single lots and collections from other areas were also in demand.
Top prices for German material
The auction began on Monday and Tuesday with coins and banknotes. Particularly striking in this section were 6,600 (1,500) euros for a 10-thaler gold coin from Saxony, 1779, with a side portrait of Friedrich August III. A 1-dollar silver coin from Hong Kong 1868 featuring Queen Victoria rose to 2,000 euros and then quintupled its starting price. A Bayern 1827 historian’s taler proof coin with Ludwig I’s portrait jumped from 5,000 to 10,000 euros. A 25-riyal banknote from Qatar and Dubai shot from 4,000 euros to a sensational 21,500 euros!
Wednesday was particularly favorable for the Asia segment, especially China. An Iraqi service mark of 25 rials with a portrait of King Faisal I increased in mint condition from 400 to 2,300 euros. A largely mint Iraqi collection from 1918–1956, including pieces with a “SPECIMEN” overprint, sold for 9,600 (2,000) euros. China’s Block Mi Nr. 8 with an added franking on a registered airmail letter from Shanghai to Bochum rose from 2,000 to 7,200 euros.
The single lots for the Overseas, Thematik, and Europe areas followed suit, and there were also noteworthy results here. Especially sought after by France was a letter from Paris to Montreal with Yvert numbers 2 c (2), 5, and 6. Starting at 1500 euros, several bidders pushed the 1853 issue to a hammer price of 13,000 euros. From Karl Heinz Schrader’s collection, who for decades pursued philately with great passion, 46 lots contained early French letters. Of these, 44 were sold. In the process, the overall hammer price rose from about 26,000 euros to ultimately over 50,000 euros.
The main catalog also contained several highlights from German collecting areas. Among them was a cabinet piece of Baden Michel Nr. 7 with the rarest numeral cancel, number 168 from Dertingen. It climbed from 3,000 to 6,800 euros. A canceled example of Deutsche Reich MiNr. 63 c jumped from 2,500 to 5,600 euros.
In almost 150 lots, Karl Heinz Schrader’s Altdeutschland collection had been detailed. They went under the hammer on Thursday. Among the noteworthy results were 4,600 (2,500) euros for a horizontal 3-strip of Brunswick MiNr. 1 on a cover from Wolfenbüttel to Dresden. From the collection of the famous philatelist Maurice Burrus came a Hamburg cover with two examples of MiNr. 1. The rare multiple franking doubled its bid to 7,000 euros. The culmination on Friday was formed by the collections with also noteworthy results and further bidding.
We thank Mr. Billion for providing this article ➜ to the original article in the German Stamp Review | August 2025
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