Tuesday, 26 June 2018

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

By Peter Allen


The more sought after something is the more serious collectors will pay for it. This includes tiny pieces of paper that are unique in some way. It can baffle the non-collectors, but millions of dollars have been paid for a single stamp. The most exciting pieces, and the ones collectors will bid on from all corners of the globe, are the rarest of the rare postage stamps.

A stamp known as the olive colored Queen Victoria's head is a great example of a mistake made by the printer. This stamp was first printed in 1864 in Hong Kong, and was intended to be brownish gray. The error came with fifty-two sheets that were printed in olive. There was an mistake in the placement of the cc and the watermark style as well. The original stamp cost ninety-six cents in Hong Kong. A block of four sold for $6.5 million Hong Kong dollars in 2012.

The British Guiana 1 Cent Magenta is one of the most highly prized in the world. It is printed with black ink on magenta paper. This stamp came about because the postmaster in British Guiana had run out of his regular supply and asked a local newspaper to print an emergency batch. To prevent forgery, a postal employee had to initial each one. In 1980 this stamp brought $850,000 at auction.

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 1840 Penny Black was the first stamp ever made. It shows Queen Victoria as she appeared in 1837. This stamp was only used for a year because the cancellation mark was too hard to see. Only two of them are known to be left. An American businessman bought one of them recently 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.

These stamps may not look like much to most. Apparently philatelists are willing to pay millions for these prized pieces of paper. The history behind them, and the rarity, create the value.




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