One of the most important Scout collections to appear on the market recently was that of Ernie Stermole from Australia.  Sold by Prestige Philately of Boronia near Melbourne, the collection contained philatelic items as well as paper ephemera and other mementos of Scout Jamborees.  Some very high prices were obtained with two of the 1935 Frankston registered covers both making £390 (US$605 €470).  A registered cover from the 1939 Bradfield Jamboree made £357 (US$553 €430), but the cover shown, from the same camp with the hexagonal violet cancel made £530 (US$820 €635).  The sunken die proof card showing the 1952-53 3½d Scout stamp made the highest price of £2863 (US$4437 €3435).  The last one I recorded was sold by Grosvenor in London in May 2009 which made £1150.  According to the auctioneers only eight such die proofs were prepared, of which two are in institutional collections.

Good prices are still being made on eBay for scarce items.  In early July, an official partly addressed Danish Scout cover in poor condition and sent from Denmark to the 1929 World Jamboree made £563 (US$ 875 €675).  A month earlier a 1947 World Jamboree Die Proof from France in brown made £435 (US$ 675 €522).

As I find that collectors of Scout badges and ephemera are not really made welcome at the Annual Gilwell Reunion, I and many of my friends will be attending the popular annual meeting at Midhurst, Sussex over the weekend of Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September.  I also look forward to meeting many of our overseas members at the Euro-Scout meeting being held at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany from September 27-30.