The Society has been made aware that collections in the estates of some members who have died recently have been sold by executors who had no knowledge of the true worth of the collection. This means that the beneficiaries did not receive the best return when the collection was sold.
There are three main options for disposing of a collection:
- Sell to a private collector. However, they may only be interested in the area they collect or might want to ‘cherry pick’ the items they are interested in.
- Sell to a philatelic dealer.
- Sell via a philatelic auction house or through a specialist society’s auction.
We suggest that members might consider the following points to help in the event of their collection being sold:
- To produce a list which identifies the key or high value items and how much was paid to acquire them. This will help ensure that they are not overlooked by a valuer or dealer.
- Indicate the main sections or groupings of the collection as this will help ensure they do not get bundled together as a ‘job lot’.
- If possible, write up the important sections of your collection. Again, this helps identify the more valuable elements and makes it easier to sell. If you exhibit parts of your collection, keep the exhibit together.
- Let the executors know that they should use a member of the Philatelic Traders Society to value the collection for probate (if necessary and it may be insisted upon by the solicitor handling the execution of the will, if the collection is insured.). They have a good understanding of current market values and trends. They will charge for this, but you may have this refunded if you either sell to the valuer or, if an auction house, you sell the collection through them. Remember, auction houses charge a seller’s fee plus VAT. We suggest that you do not accept an auction house’s suggestion that they ‘Buy In’ the collection.
- If selling to a private collector it may be best to have the collection valued in advance so a fair price can be obtained.
- If the collection is large or valuable and you are a member of a specialist society such as the CISS, then your executors might wish to contact the society’s officers who can help them deal with the collection. Please note that the CISS and its officers are unable to provide valuations.
The Channel Islands Specialists’ Society has helped many spouses to obtain the best value for collections of Channel Islands material through selling it in their regular auctions. The executors should be asked to contact the Society’s Secretary for information on how this would be handled – secretary@ciss.uk.
A weekend meeting has been booked at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey from 11 to 13 April 2025. A flyer is enclosed with this journal with more details.
Bookings need to be made directly with the hotel as shown, but the form should be returned to Sue Winnie to help the planning for the weekend.
A form can also be found on our website which can filled in and returned online.
14 September 2024 Room auction. Themed Meeting: Letters W, X, Y and Z.
30 November 2024 Room auction. Preview display of invited members’ material for the CISS 75th Anniversary Display. A Zoom meeting will be held at 14.00 GMT. Login details will be issued in due course.
9 January 2025 Anniversary Display to the Royal Philatelic Society London
8 February 2025 Member’s Meeting – Annual Competition Day and Room Auction
11-13 April 2025 Society Weekend at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey
7-11 May 2025 Europhilex, NEC, Birmingham
11 May 2025 Society Meeting at Europhilex
17 May 2025 The 2025 Solent Regional Meeting at Chandlers Ford, Hampshire. Convener: Alan Whittaker
5 July 2025 MIDPEX, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, near Leamington Spa. (Society Stand)
12 July 2025 75th Annual General Meeting; Room Auction and Members’ displays
13 September 2025 Member’s Meeting – Theme to be decided
29 November 2025 Member’s Meeting – Theme: Letters A, B, and/or C
The full reports and accounts are viewable on the CISS website at https://www.ciss.uk/category/society-news/. A hard copy is available on request from the Hon. Sec.
First of all, can I thank all those 18 members and one guest who attended the 74th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the RPSL, including the eight members who were able to join the meeting via Zoom. I am pleased to report that all those committee members who had put their name forward for re-election were elected to serve for a further twelve months. I am also pleased to report that Julian Bagwell was elected as the new Competition Secretary. A copy of the 74th AGM Minutes are viewable on our website.
For those members who attend the Member’s Meeting at the RPSL, there has been a change to programme which is shown in the ‘Forthcoming meetings’ section below. Further details for the 2025 programme can be found on the Society’s website at www.ciss.uk and clicking on ‘Programme’. For the November meeting, the plan is to show via Zoom a few of those displays that will be appearing at the CISS 75th Anniversary Event at the RPSL on 9 January 2025.
I have already mentioned that Julian Bagwell was elected as the new Competition Secretary. Can I ask members to support Julian in his new role by entering one or more competition entries for the 2025 Competition Day on 8 February?
Many congratulations to Roger Harris for awards received for his recent publications. Pioneer Aviation in the Channel Islands (Volumes 1 and 2) were awarded the CISS Joan Flood Memorial Silver Platter, as well as the American Airmail Society’s George D Kingdom Literature Award, a plaque with a mounted “gold” medal. Delivered by the Hotel’s Care won a Vermeil Award in the 18th New Zealand National Philatelic Exhibition in Christchurch. This is an international bi-annual competitive exhibition.
Truly international recognition for his enthusiastic authorship! If you would like to purchase copies of any of these books, please see ww.ciss.uk/publications/ for details. You can also email books@ciss.uk. Details on the back inside cover.
9 January 2025 Anniversary Display to the Royal Philatelic Society London
11-13 April 2025 Society Weekend, Guernsey
7-11 May 2025 EuroPhilex, NEC, Birmingham
5 July 2025 MIDPEX, Warwickshire Exhibition Centre
6 July 2024 Annual General Meeting, Room Auction and Members’ Displays.
14 September 2024 Members’ Meeting – Theme “Stamps used on Channel Islands’ Mail”.
30 November 2024 Members’ Meeting. Letters W, X, Y, and/or Z
All meetings start at 11.00am at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane London, EC4N 7BW.
Can I start my Clipboard report by congratulating Nick Martin on producing his first Les Iles Normandes? It must have been a hard task following on from David Gurney, but well done on your first edition as Editor.
Sadly, as you would have been aware, we had to cancel the Member’s Weekend meeting at Salisbury. However, the ‘Team’ was able to put on a Member’s Meeting at the RPSL on Saturday 20 April, where, as well as viewing some excellent members’ displays, Nick Stuart was able to run the Spring postal/room auction which saw 725 lots go under the hammer. A big thank you must go to Nick and Gerald Marriner, who put the whole auction together, and Mark Bailey, who, along with yours truly, did the leg work. I am pleased to report that proceedings are advancing satisfactorily with the 2025 Member’s Weekend meeting at the Peninsula Hotel, Guernsey.
By the time you receive your copy of the journal the Annual General Meeting will be fast approaching. Current committee members have indicated that they are prepared to stand for re-election for a further 12 months, but if any member of the CISS wishes to stand for any of the committee positions please notify me by the 29 June at the latest, along with the names of a proposer and seconder. All the necessary documents for the AGM will be available on the Society website (www.ciss.uk), together with the necessary login details for those members wishing to join the AGM via Zoom, closer to the date.
