Art-Rite Launches Philately Department in Milan with Giorgio Cuneo Collection Sale

On February 22, 2024, Milan-based auction house Art-Rite will inaugurate its new Philately department with a sale dedicated to the Giorgio Cuneo Collection. The auction features over 250 lots selected from more than 40,000 pieces, marking the collection's reappearance on the market after a long absence. The initiative is conducted in collaboration with Auction Gallery in Florence and Kruso Kapital, Art-Rite's parent company, which organized an art lending operation for the collection. The debut auction focuses on 19th-century Italian philately, with significant references to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Top lots include the Trinacria ½ tornese, the only stamp issued during Garibaldi's dictatorship in Naples (estimate €120,000-150,000); a 10-cent diagonal fractionated stamp from the Provisional Government of the Marche (estimate €150,000-190,000); a document with ten ½ grano stamps in four color shades including rare yellow olive (estimate €120,000-150,000); and a registered mail cover for Germany with the highest known Italian 19th-century franking (estimate €70,000-90,000). Art-Rite, already active in ancient, modern, and contemporary art, jewelry, comics, numismatics, and vintage cars, sees this as a strategic move linking finance and the niche philatelic market. Cristina Masturzo conducted the interview.