Escala Group and Its North American Philatelic Division Report Strong 'Stamp Auction Week' Sales

Business Wire, Oct 11, 2006

Aggregate Sales Total $5.8 Million, 26% Over Pre-Sale Estimates

NEW YORK -- Escala Group (Nasdaq: ESCL), a global collectibles company in stamps, coins, and art and antiques, and its North American Philatelic Auction subsidiaries Greg Manning Auctions, H.R. Harmer and Nutmeg Stamp Sales, announced that the five auctions conducted during "Stamp Auction Week" held September 25-30, 2006, realized $5.8 million in aggregate sales, well over their pre-sale estimates of $4.6 million. Each of the auction's results exceeded expectations, and the broad range of material offered - Specialized Hawaii and Canal Zone, scarce and rare United States individual stamps and collections, and Worldwide single stamps and collections - exhibited strength across multiple specialty areas, with bidding activity from around the globe.

The initial auction, conducted by H.R. Harmer on September 27, was the first of three important Harmer sales held during "Stamp Auction Week." This auction was comprised of specialized collections of Hawaii and Canal Zone stamps and postal history. Highlights of this auction included the sale of an 1851-era 5o used Hawaiian Missionary stamp, which, despite faults and repairs, sold for $8,625 (all realizations include the Buyer's Premium). Another rare Hawaiian issue, a mint 2o Numeral stamp of 1859, opened at $6,750 and eventually sold for $21,850 despite not having original gum, and with a Scott catalogue value of only $12,000. A rare Canal Zone inverted center issue of 1906 in mint condition commenced bidding at $3,000 and sold to an agent for $8,050 against its $3,500 catalogue value.

Harmer's second auction on September 28 was comprised of a number of significant consignments of United States individual stamps and postal history. A lovely copy of the United States 10o 1847 issue in rare unused condition sold for $12,650 to a mail bidder. An exceptional mint 90o issue of 1870 opened at $6,500 and sold for $9,775, well over its catalogue value of $4,750. Another rare stamp, the mint 8o Bluish Paper, issued in 1909 with fewer than 90 copies known, sold for $28,750 to an Internet bidder.

The third Harmer auction, conducted on September 29, was comprised of exclusively worldwide stamps. A Great Britain Post Office fresh [pounds sterling]5 Orange of 1882 in mint, Never Hinged quality sold for $12,650 against its $9,000 Scott value, and was a highlight of the excellent section of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. A rare Canadian 5o St. Laurence Seaway mint stamp with an inverted center also realized over its Scott value of $9,250 when it sold for $12,075. The Falkland Islands 1933 Centenary issue in mint blocks of four catalogued $14,216 in Scott and realized a very strong $25,300 when the gavel fell.

The Greg Manning Auctions sale of stamp collections held on September 30, 2006, drew bidders to the auction site from Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Great Britain, Spain, and across the United States. This auction of intact collections is a specialty of the firm, which sells more collection lots, with four major sales per year, than any other philatelic auction firm in the world. The United States section included a U.S. Revenue Collection estimated to realize $16,000 to $20,000, which opened at $11,000 and finally sold to an agent for $37,375. A significant holding of mint U.S. stamps estimated to bring $20,000-$25,000 sold for $28,750. Another lot of miscellaneous mint and used United States stamps housed in two cartons was the subject of much bidder interest as it opened for $10,000 and sold to a floor bidder for $21,850, again well over its pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000.

Greg Manning, President of the North American and Asian Philatelic Auction Division, stated, "Normally September is the beginning of our philatelic auction season, and typically not the busiest month, however this September's excellent results are indicative of a strong worldwide market. We are looking forward to our October 28-29, 2006 John Bull Stamp Auctions, Ltd. sale in Hong Kong, which contains a plethora of interesting material, and based on these recent results, should also benefit from this major demand for quality stamps. All of our September live floor auctions were available on the Internet through an on-line bidding interface."

Nutmeg Stamp Sales has recently announced that the firm will begin to conduct a series of monthly live and on-line auctions of United States graded stamps, beginning on November 11, 2006. The market for numerically third-party graded U.S. stamps has grown significantly over the past three years. Nutmeg's goal is to create the largest and most dependable auction market for collectors and dealers of graded U.S. stamps. The first auction will be comprised of hundreds of very high-grade U.S. stamps, and the live sale will be linked to the Internet for bidding on-line. Numerical coin grading began in 1986 and has had a profound positive impact on the coin business, giving greater market liquidity and quality assurance to all coin collectors and investors. The impact of numerical grading on the U.S. stamp market has also been very positive for the same reasons, and interest has expanded rapidly in stamp grading.