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Auction: 9016 - Important Stamps & Covers of the World
Lot: 34

Finland 1856 Small Pearls, wove paper 5 kopek blue, vertical tête-bêche pair, a fabulously fresh example of this classic rarity with large to huge margins all round, clear impressions, large part original gum and, despite a light horizontal crease between the two impressions and the merest suspicion of a thin under the hinge, very fine. R.P.S. (1945) and Rolf Gummesson (1997) Certificates. S.G. 1a, Facit 1Iv3, 600,000 SEK (without gum) Estimate £ 30,000-40,000 Note: This magnificent showpiece is without doubt the finest mint tête-bêche pair in existence, this being number 4 in the Linder listing of the 15 recorded examples of this variety. However none of the other recorded examples are in the fine state of preservation this pair possesses. Most are found with varying degrees of faults and original gum examples are practically non-existant. This pair was part of a block of four when offered in the famous Fabergé auction on 14 March, 1940. Sometime between 1942 and 1945 the block was separated into two pairs

Sold for
£30,000