7/08/2018

The Rarest Of The Rare Postage Stamps Collectors Are Willing To Pay Millions To Own

By Peter Allen


People collect all kinds of things. It amazes many, who have not been bitten by the collecting bug, that a little, imprinted piece of paper can create intense interest in certain individuals, or have much value. The truth is that a stamp can bring in the millions of dollars at auction, and that a display of rare postage stamps can bring serious philatelists together from all corners of the globe.

The olive colored Queen Victoria's head is an example of a printing error. The Hong Kong stamp was printed in 1864, and was supposed to be gray brown in color. Instead fifty-two sheets were mistakenly printed in olive. In addition to the color error, there is also a mistake in the watermark style and an incorrect placement of the cc. Once selling for ninety-six Hong Kong cents per stamp, a block of four brought nearly six and a half million Hong Kong dollars in 2012.

The British Guiana 1 Cent Magenta is the result of a depletion of supply. The British Guiana postmaster ran out of stamps and could not wait on England to deliver more. He asked the newspaper to print some to cover him until the regular shipment arrived. A magenta stamp with black ink was the result. Postal employees were forced to initial them to prevent forgeries. The stamp sold at auction in 1980 for $850,000.

A printing error caused by the rush of a special event resulted in the Post Office Mauritius. This stamp was issued to commemorate a ball hosted by the wife of the governor. Unfortunately, when they were printed no one noticed that the stamp read post office instead of post paid. One of the twelve left was purchased for $1.6 million dollars U. S. In 2011.

The Inverted Jenny is the upside down version of the first air mail stamp. These were issued in 1918. The inversion was caused when the sheets went through the press the second time. Someone put the sheets into the press the wrong way, and the plane came out upside down. Nobody noticed when the sheets initially went on sale. In 2005 a collector bought a block of four for $3 million.

The very first stamp was the 1840 Penny Black. It has the face of Queen Victoria in profile as seen during a 1827 London visit. The stamp was only circulated for one year because the background made the cancellation mark too hard to make out. It is believed that only two of these Penny Blacks still exist. One of them was recently purchased by an American for $5 million.

The Swedish stamp known as the Treskilling Yellow is the most highly prized and expensive stamp in existence. It was intended to be green, but is yellow instead. 2010 was the last time it traded hands. The actual purchase price has remained private, but the auctioneer has admitted that this sale made the Treskilling Yellow the most expensive stamp in the world.

It might be hard for some to see the wisdom of paying millions for a tiny piece of paper. For philatelists, who have the money and means, a rare stamp is a prize. There is no telling what another enthusiast will be willing to pay in the future.




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