A philatelic auction, or stamp auction is a sale of stamps

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

, covers

Cover (philately)

In philately, the term cover pertains to the outside of an envelope or package with an address, typically with postage stamps that have been cancelled and is a term generally used among stamp and postal history collectors. The term does not include the contents of the letter or package, although...

 and other philatelic material usually run by stamp dealer

Stamp dealer

A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in postage stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or official stamps for use on court documents.-Stamps on Approval Basis:...

s or specialist collectible

Collectible

A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...

s auctioneers, such as, David Feldman

David Feldman (philatelist)

David Feldman is a professional philatelist, author and auctioneer, chairman of David Feldman SA, a Geneva based philatelic auction company that has attained record prices for some of the most famous postage stamps of the world...

, Christie's

Christie's

Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...

 and Sotheby's

Sotheby's

Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...

, where prospective purchasers place bids in an attempt to obtain the desired items.

The highest bidder for each lot (described item or items) makes the purchase. Auctions are generally divided into mail sales, where bids are accepted by mail, and public sales, where mail bids are combined with live bidding from individuals present at the auction or participating by telephone.

Auctions usually allow prospective purchasers to view the items beforehand, either in a catalogue, in the auction house, or both.

See also

• Mystic Stamp Company
  Mystic Stamp Company
  The Mystic Stamp Company, based in Camden, New York, since 1923, is a mail-order postage stamp dealer, one of the largest in operation and notable for both its promotion of stamp collecting as a hobby and for its acquisition of the Z Grill, the rarest United States stamp...
  
  
• Philatelic investment
  Philatelic investment
  Philatelic investment is investment in collectible postage stamps for the purpose of realizing a profit. Philatelic investment was popular during the 1970s but then fell out of favour following a speculative bubble and prices of rare stamps took many years to recover. Investing in rare stamps...
  
  
• Robson Lowe
  Robson Lowe
  John Harry Robson Lowe , Robbie to his friends, was an English professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer.- Life and career :...
  
  
• Stanley Gibbons

External links

• At the auction, you get to name your price Linn's Stamp News
  Linn's Stamp News
  Linn's Stamp News an American publication, is the largest weekly newspaper for stamp collectors, with a paid circulation of just over 46,000 Circulation peaked at almost 92,000 in 1978 and has declined ever since because fewer new collectors are subscribing to replace those who subscribed in the...