Heritage is pleased to announce that Steve Crippe, founder and President of GradedStamps.com, has joined their staff as Director of Philatelic Sales.

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Steve started collecting stamps at a young age. He developed an early affinity for stamps with production mistakes after his own purchase of a miscut booklet at a Post Office window in the 1960's. His interest in the fascinating sub-specialty of Errors remains strong to this day, and he is recognized as one of the leading experts in this fascinating field.

After 25 years of Circulation Management experience at The Seattle Times, Steve retired from the newspaper business in 1999 to launch a full-time, rare stamp business, initially selling stamps to collectors through sales booths at major stamp shows across the USA. Quickly recognizing the power of the Internet, he soon developed a custom-software website dedicated to the sale of rare stamps, migrating virtually all his business to the online venue by 2004.

Steve was the first national-level stamp dealer to embrace third-party grading, introduced to the stamp market in late 2002 by Professional Stamp Experts (PSE). His leadership in this "new stamp market" was noticed, and followed by other dealers, and then ultimately, by stamp auction firms, who also began offering graded stamps to their clients.

He is a current member of the American Stamp Dealers Association, American Philatelic Society, United States Stamp Society, Error, Freaks and Oddities Collectors Club and the Florida Stamp Dealers Association.

"Philately is an area we're anxious to get back into," said Steve Ivy, Co-Chairman and CEO of Heritage, "and we're confident that Steve's drive, ambition, experience, and standing in the stamp collecting community will help us attain a leadership position in this exciting area very quickly."

GradedStamps.com will move its operations to Dallas, where it will continue under Steve's direction.

The $1.5 million Emerald City Collection of US & Worldwide Stamps is anchoring Heritage Auction Galleries reentry into philatelic auctions. Assembled by a dedicated Northwest philatelist over eight decades, the collection is especially strong in the early nineteenth century issues, and is well-balanced with some exceptional world rarities. The auction will take place in Dallas on January 29, 2009 - 31, 2009.

"The Emerald City Collection," noted Heritage VP Leo Frese, "is especially strong in the early US issues. The collector, a very private man who passed away in 2007, had collected for 79 years - starting in 1928. He was a steady buyer, even during the Depression, when some important rarities could be purchased at advantageous prices. He attended two to three shows every month, and extensively traveled the East Coast quietly making purchases with no fanfare. His face became well known to the dealers, but no one was privy to the depths of his collecting, and he maintained his privacy even with his many collector friends. Over the years, he would occasionally trade for more significant rarities, but he was never a seller. He was very particular about quality, and took his time when purchasing, but over the decades quantity was certainly added as well. He spent about a quarter of his collecting effort on his world stamps, and was especially proud of his Austrian holdings. His family notes that he was actively collecting even in his final weeks."

"We are currently taking inventory of the entire collection," concluded Frese, "and have begun sending some of the exceptional pieces to Professional Stamp Experts and the Philatelic Foundation."

Heritage Auction Galleries, the world's largest collectibles auctioneer, formally re-entered the philatelic market after 14 years with the $825,000 sale of an "Inverted Jenny" stamp. The 24-cent denomination, U.S. red, white and blue misprint (Scott # C3a) depicting an upside-down Curtis 4-N ("Jenny") biplane was position number 84 on the original sheet of 100.

The mint condition stamp is one of the finest known and one of no more than a half dozen never-hinged specimens. It is certified by Professional Stamp Experts as PSE 75 NH.

"We have tens of thousands of rare coin clients who are ready to buy stamps now that they know we're in the market. This stamp was purchased for one of them," said Greg Rohan, Heritage's President.

"We acquired it from Sonny Hagendorf of Scarsdale, New York for $750,000 and sold it for $825,000 to a senior Wall Street executive who is a long-time coin collector. This is the first rare stamp he's ever purchased. He told me it's a great value and he's thrilled. I was the under-bidder on his behalf at the Siegel's auction in November when the 'Inverted Jenny' position number 57 was offered," explained Rohan.

The eventual winning bidder for number 57 was collector Charles Hack who purchased it for $850,000 plus the buyer's premium.

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Heritage Auction Galleries, the leading auctioneer of rare collectibles in the world, is expanding into Stamps!

Whether you are a buyer, a seller, or both, let our proven leadership in collectibles, our unparalleled Internet presence, and our established network of over 375,000 bidder-members work for you.

Heritage's first stamp auctions are set to begin in 2008. In the coming years, we intend to establish ourselves as the world's top stamp auction house.

For more information, contact us.