"The collection is estimated to realize in the neighborhood of $2 million-plus," said Charles Shreve, co-owner of Shreve Philatelic Galleries, which will handle the sale Sept. 27 and 28.

The stamps will be shown Sept. 14 and 15 at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, he said.

In the previous sale of a significant holding of Hawaiian stamps, the Honolulu Advertiser collection fetched about $9.8 million when it was sold in New York last November by Robert A. Siegel Galleries.

That collection, put together by missionary-descendant Thurston Twigg-Smith and owned by his Persis Corp., included one stamp that went for $2 million by itself.

Shreve said he had discussions with Pietsch about selling his collection before the Advertiser stamps went on the market and they decided to hold off and sell the Pietsch stamps after the market had had some time to settle down.

It may seem that all of a sudden there are a lot of Hawaiian stamps around, but that really isn't true, Shreve said. Before Twigg-Smith's collection was offered, there hadn't been a significant offering for many years, he said.

There isn't likely to be another for a long time after the Pietsch collection is sold, Shreve said. "Once it gets disbursed, it gets put away for another generation."

Pietsch said the sale and its timing have nothing to do with his role as a partner in Attractions Hawaii Inc., owner of Sea Life Park and Waimea Falls Park. That business, in default on a $12 million bank loan, is being sold to an unidentified group of local investors who will take over the loan.