Some Of The Rare Postage Stamps That Get Serious Collectors Excited

By Peter Allen


People who collect love all sorts of things. People who don't collect, are frequently puzzled by why things like little pieces of paper fascinate others who are willing to spend incredible sums to purchase them. The fact is that there is a market for rare postage stamps, and collectors will come from everywhere around the earth for the chance to add a one of a kind stamp to their private collections.

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.

Mistakes happen when people get in a hurry. The Post Office Mauritius is a good example of this. In 1847 the wife of the governor of Mauritius was planning a ball. The post office had a special stamp issued just for the occasion. The stamp was used on the invitations, but instead of saying postage paid, the stamp read post office. In 2011 one of these twelve two pennies left sold for $1.6 million dollars.

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 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 most expensive stamp on the planet is the Treskilling Yellow. Green was the intended color for this Swedish stamp, but it turned out yellow. It has changed hands several times, recently for an undisclosed amount. According to the auctioneer the Treskilling Yellow is now the most expensive single 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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