Wednesday, June 27, 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.

The Post Office Mauritius is another printing error that happened when someone got in a hurry. The governor's wife held a ball in 1847, and the post office issued a special stamp for the invitations. Unfortunately, instead of imprinting post paid on the stamp, the sheets went out with post office printed. One of the only twelve two pennies known to exist sold in 2011 for $1.6 million U. S. Dollars.

Even non-collectors will recognize the Inverted Jenny. This was the very first air mail stamp issued. The ones that are rare show the plane upside down. This mistake was not hard to make because the stamped sheets had to be fed manually through the press twice. A set of sheets were fed through the wrong way, resulting in an inverted plan. In 2005 someone bought a block of four for $3 million.

The first stamp ever made was the 1840 Penny Black. It shows the profile of Queen Victoria sketched by William Wyon. The stamp was retired after just a year because the background made the cancellation mark hard to see. There are only two in existence. One of the two was purchased recently by an American for $5 million.

The Treskilling Yellow is the most sought after and expensive stamp in the world. It is a Swedish stamp that was supposed to be green, but is yellow. It was last sold in 2010 for an undisclosed amount. All the auctioneer would say is that it is more expensive than any other single stamp on the planet.

People who love stamps get excited about this kind of thing. The appeal baffles others. Philatelists may not have the money to buy a rare stamp, but they can enjoy the history behind these fragile little pieces of paper.




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