Posts Tagged ‘rare stamps’

Letters from Europeans in Algiers are known at least from 1690, and a postal mark was used in Spanish-occupied Oran from 1749. But no regular service existed until 1830, when the military postal organization (Tresor et Postes) was introduced in Algiers. It was opened to civilians in 1835. Gradually the posts were separated from the paymaster branch and in 1860 they became autonomous. From 18 POs in 1845, the service grew to 97 offices in 1860 and 295 in 1880.

Postal services were initially by courier and by coastal steamboat service operated by the French navy. The coastal service passed to Messageries Maritimes in 1866, and from 1862 railways slowly pushed forward (Algiers-Oran opened 1871; Constantine-Philippeville 1870).

Military handstamps were used in 1830-9; datestamps bearing town names and dates were issued to POs after 1839.

Used stamps of France from 1 January 1849.

Oblit. 16 January 1849 – 31 December 1851 by dumb grille: stamps are identifiably from Algeria only on cover. After 1852 cancellation was by lozenge of dots with small figures (3710 – 4448) and after 1863 by similar lozenge with large figures (5000 – 5171). N.B. Most of these numbers, but not all, were issued to Algeria. Datestamps were used to cancel stamps from April 1876.

Used stamps of France 22 July 1958 – 27 June 1962.

Used locally overprinted stamps c. 4 July 1962 – 31 October 1962 until independence stamps were available.

There were 862 POs in 1969.

When a new country is formed, which seems to be very often these days, some provision must be made to handle the mail while stamps are being designed and printed.

Usually the stamps already in use in that country are overprinted with some identification to mark them as being used in the new country. Such is the case with Bangladesh. Bangladesh was formerly East Pakistan, and when they gained their independence and renamed their country, they used the stamps of East Pakistan with an overprint declaring the name of the new country.

These are provisional stamps, and usually provisionals are very costly, since they are used only in an emergency period, being replaced by stamps definitive to the country at the earliest opportunity.

Something of a legend among rare stamps, the so-called “Woodblock” provisional stamps of 1861 were engraved in London and were printed from stereotyped plates that were mounted on a wooden block, hence the nickname.

The stamps were created by a Cape of Good Hope surveyor and were supposedly designed in a triangular shape. The design of a female figure sitting on top of an anchor, which is resting on top of a rock, symbolizing the Cape.

The Woodblock Stamps were printed in 1861 and comes in both 1 penny and 4 penny forms. The 1 penny Woodblock Stamp comes in the color Vermillion while the 4 penny Woodblock Stamp comes in the color Blue. However, as is common during this error, the 1 penny stamp sometimes is accidentally printed with the color blue: and the 4 penny stamp is accidentally printed with the color vermillion.

Just over 24,000 of the One Penny and 20,000 of the Four pence “Woodblocks” were printed. At most, there could be but 220 errors in each case. A rarer shade of the One Penny error exists in pale blue and is valued at around £40,000 in sound used condition.

If you’re a stamp collector, then there may be stamps of different values in your collection. There are probably rare and valuable stamps that you’d like to own. But if you’re new to the world of stamp collecting, you may not be aware of the rarest and most valuable stamps. There are lots of them; however here is a list of some of the best:

Error Stamps: An error stamp is a stamp that has some kind of mistake. This could mean that it is unhinged or a detail on the stamp is incorrect. Stamps that aren’t usually valuable can become very much so if they contain errors.

The Benjamin Franklin 1908 Stamp: This rare one cent stamp, when found unused and hinged in perfect condition, can be worth $100,000!

1868 Canadian Stamp: This two-cent ultra rare stamp features a picture of Queen Victoria. There are only two of these stamps that are known to be in existence today!

Hawaiian Missionary Stamps: These stamps are the state of Hawaii’s very first stamps and are known as Missionary Issue. There were four stamps originally issued, with three values: two cents, five cents, and thirteen cents. It is almost impossible to find these stamps in undamaged condition.

1911 25c Vin Fiz Airpost Stamp: There are only 12 of these stamps recorded to be in existence. The only example shown to go to a foreign destination fetched $88,000!

British Guiana One Cent Magenta Stamp: This amazing rarity is probably the most valuable stamp in the world. It was first discovered in 1873, and auctioned to millionaire John Dupont for over $900,000. There is only one other known copy of this stamp in the world, which is currently undergoing tests for authenticity.

Swedish Three Skilling Banco: These stamps were normally made in green, but in 1885 a yellow stamp was found that was deemed to be a printing error. In 1996, this stamp sold for over two million dollars!

You may never get your hands on one of these rare stamps, but there are many others that are accessible to most every stamp collector. By reading stamp catalogs and magazines, you can learn more about them. Do some research and find out which rarities you’d like to pursue. You never know what you may find!

The first issue of Brazil – the Bullseye, so nicknamed from the design’s resemblance – comes fourth chronologically in order of issue of adhesive postage stamps. First, in 1840, came the Penny Black and two-pence Blue of Great Britain; in 1842 came the New York Dispatch; and, in March 1843, came the Fours and Sixes of Zurich. The Bullseyes first appeared on August 1, 1843.

In conception, however, the Bullseyes are entitled to rank second only to the British issue. It was on November 30, 1841 that the Brazilian Government was authorized by Law No. 43 to create stamps. That law came about through the efforts of J.D. Sturtz, a German who had been a Brazilian consul to Prussia. Enlisting the aid of a British charge d’affaires in Brazil, he urged the adoption of prepayment by means of stamps, following the innovation in Britain.

Eventually emerging from carefully preserved, if musty, official records were the prime fact that, in 1841, the Brazilian customs authorities seized an engraving machine from one Pedro Ludwig, confiscated it and used it in the service of the mint. On Christmas Eve 1842 a transferring machine and accessories were bought by the Mint from one Eduardo Lemerick.

Production of the plates involved engraving a flat die with figures and background – a different die for each value; 30, 60, and 90 reis. The printing of the Bullseyes ceased at the end of 1843. Continued sale of the stock on hand was authorized on August 22, 1844, but use after 1850 is scarcely known. The numbers of Bullseyes calculated to have been issued are 30 reis – 856,617; 60 reis – 1,335,865; 90 reis – 341,125. Those figures do not include the remainders on hand which were burnt at the Mint on March 30, 1846.

Of the finds of Bullseyes the most important has been a vertical strip of three; the upper two stamps are the 30 reis value and the lowest is 60 reis, with a dividing line which separated the different values on the plate. Formerly in the collection of Charles Lathrop Pack, the strip is known as the ‘Pack Strip’. In March 1963 at auction by Stanley Gibbons the pack strip realized £8,250. Auctioned again by Stanley Gibbons in February 1969, the Pack Strip realized £11,500. It was sold in the Robert Siegel auction at Ameripex ‘86′ on May 25th for $275,000. Another, but defective multiple of different values se tenant is known.

A complete pane of eighteen of the 90 reis was found in Brazil about 1898. Among other finds, the most noteworthy is a unique complete sheet of sixty of the 60 reis from the plate which was ready on July 11, 1843. At Stanley Gibbons’ auction in Frankfurt on 18 May 1978, the sheet realized $82,381. A 30 reis interpane block of four realized $168,000 at the Habsburg-Feldman auction in Zurich November 18, 1989 of the Amazon Collection which had been assembled over half a century. Colonel Napier had theorized correctly about the existence of the third plate which was proven by the later discovery of this block. The collection had earned the Grand Prix of the Court of Honour at London 1980.

The extraordinary thing about the first Brazilian stamps, issued on August 1, 1843, was that, some how, the authorities acquired Perkins, Bacon-style equipment – including a transfer roller – and engraved dies from which they prepared plates of 54 stamps, each plate comprising panes of 18 of each value -30, 60, and 90 reis. The designs featured large, ornamental figures of value within oval settings; hence their nickname, ‘bullseyes’, and the arrangement of the stamps in the sheet permitted se-tenant pairs, that is, stamps of two different denominations joined together in a pair. A classic example was the ‘Pack Strip’ – it was owned by an American collector, Charles Lathrop Pack – which was a vertical strip of three containing a pair of the 30 reis se-tenant with the 60 reis, the most famous item in Brazilian stamps. The stamps bore no country name or other inscription.

These stamps were followed in 1844 by smaller, rectangular designs with italic or inclined numerals of value, the Inclinados or ’snake’s eyes’, and in 1850 by smaller versions of the original ‘bullseyes’ which became known as the ‘goat’s eyes’ or if blue instead of the customary black color, ‘cat’s eyes’. Small high-value stamps appeared in 1861 – it was not until 1866 that Brazil honored Emperor Dom Pedro II with his portrait on stamps. There are two interesting theories as to why that honor was delayed. One was that, in 1843, there was no one in the Rio Treasury who was sufficiently skilled to engrave such a portrait in the time available; the other was that there was objection to the prospect of the Emperor’s likeness being obliterated by postmarks!

This is the first stamp issued by Bermudians to inaugurate their capital, Hamilton, and is signed by Bermuda postmaster William Bennet Perot. In 1848, the town of Hamilton was incorporated as the Capital of Bermuda, and these stamps were printed under Postmaster William Bennet Perot. He wrote the words “1 penny” above the year stamp and signed his name below.

Till now, only 11 copies of this stamp have been discovered. Most of them are in the possession of European royalty, such as the specimen belonging to Queen Elizabeth II. This stamp’s worth is approximately $100,000.

Mail in Hawaii used to be carried by ships with no official postal system in place. However, by 1851, traffic in Hawaii was high enough that the government set up a postal office and established official postal rates.

On 1st October, 1851 The stamps went on sale in three denominations covering three rates: the 2-cent stamp was for newspapers going to the US, the 5-cent value was for regular mail to the US, and the 13-cent value was for mail to the US East Coast, combining the 5 cents of Hawaiian postage, a 2-cent ship fee, and 6 cents to cover the transcontinental US rate. These stamps are most often used by missionaries working there at the time.

The top line read “Hawaiian / Postage” for the 2- and 5-cent values, but “H.I. & U.S. / Postage” for the 13-cent value, reflecting its unusual role of paying two different countries’ postage. And design of these stamps was very simple, having a central numeral of the denomination framed by a standard ornament and the denomination repeated in words at the bottom.

Till now there are only 200 stamps of Hawaiian Missionaries have survived, including all values.

The 2-cent is the rarest of the Hawaiian Missionaries, with only 15 copies existing. In 1921 the 2 cent Missionary stamp was sold for US$15,000 and in 1963 the same stamp sold for US$41,000. And Present estimated value of these 2 cent Hawaiian Missionaries stamp is £450,000 for unused copy and £225,000 for used copy.

An interesting story about this stamp is: in 1892, one of its earlier owners, Gaston Leroux, was murdered for it by an envious fellow philatelist, Hector Giroux.

An envelope containing a 2 cent and 5 cent Hawaiian Missionary stamp (as well as two other 3 cent stamps) survived to this day and is known as the Dawson Cover, in the 1995 Siegel auction it realized a price of US$1.9 million, and was last sold publicly for $2.09 million, making it one of the highest-priced of all philatelic items.

The Red Mercury is the rarest of Austrian stamps (stamps issued for sending newspapers).

Austria issued newspaper stamps for the first time in 1851, they represented a profile of Mercury, the Roman messenger god. The Mercury Stamps did not have a denomination printed on them but was specified with the color of the stamp – Blue, Yellow, and Rose. The color of the stamp indicating the value. Blue said 6 / 10 kreuzer rate for a newspaper, yellow for ten newspapers (6kr), and rose for 50 newspapers (30kr).

In 1856, the model has been replicated in the red (or scarlet), and with the rose, was the equivalent of six kreuzer. However, it was soon replaced by a new model that came out in 1858, and only a few copies have survived.

Recent auctions are estimated at approximately $40,000.

Before the discovery of Australia, it was believed that a black swan was impossible. However, after people discovered the existence of black swans in Australia, it soon became the symbol of the continent.

In 1854, Western Australia issued its first stamps, featuring the colony symbol, the Black Swan, as did all WA stamps until 1902. While 1d black was engraved in Britain by Perkins Bacon, other values, including the 4d blue, were produced by Horace Samson in Perth using lithography, and with various settings around the design for each swan value.

The Inverted Swan, a 4-pence blue postage stamp issued in 1855 by Western Australia, was one of the world’s first invert errors. Technically, it is a “frame invert”.

In January 1855, the 4d stamps were needed. When Alfred Hillman had the impression of stone out of storage, it was found that two of the impressions had been damaged, so he had to redo them. One of the replaced frames has been replaced tilted, and one was accidentally redone upside down. The stone block of 60 has been transferred four times to give the impression of stone, and 97 cards were printed before Hillman discovered and corrected the error, resulting in a total of 388 printing errors are produced.

However, the errors went unrecognized and unreported for several years. Only 15 complete copies, plus a part of a stamp in a strip of three, have survived. No unused copies are known.

Estimated value of this stamp is around US$80,000.

Postage stamps are thoroughly used in all parts of the World. Everyday, a huge number of stamps are printed in the World.

The first postage stamp issued in the world was in 1840. The stamp was introduced by the British itself and was called “One Penny Black”. Those postage stamps were integrated or attached and had to be cut with scissors. Printed on it was the picture of England’s Queen Victoria. The unused samples of these stamps are very much rare to find. And if you find one, it is very much expensive to acquire. Although having some of it in their collections means everything to many of stamps enthusiasts.

Other stamp collectors that observe the rise in value of old postage stamps engaged in Philatelic investments. Stamps prove to be the most profitable among other collectibles. Rare postage stamps are investments and also good alternative to art collecting, because they sell fast at a high price and easier to store.

There are eleven most extremely strange and very rare postage stamps in the world today. They are:

1.) The Two Penny Blue Stamps (1840) – these stamps lacked the country’s name. One of the earliest stamps made in Britain.

2.) The ‘Mauritius Post Office Error’ Stamps (1847) – these stamps had the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid.”

3.) Hawaii Missionary Stamps (1851) – these are very expensive stamps, an unused set of eight could cost up to $100,000.

4.) British Guiana 1-cent Magenta Stamps (1856) – alleged to be the world’s rarest and most valuable stamps. These stamps were sold at an auction in 1970 for $280,000.

5.) The New Brunswick “Connell’s Folly” (1859) – Postmaster General Charles Connell used his own portrait on the 5 cent stamp, the value most commonly used in the colony.

6.) The Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador “Seebeck Reprints” (1889-1899) – Nicholas F. Seebeck, a representative of the Hamilton Banknote Company in New York, contracted to print stamps for these nations at no charge, provided all unsold stamps were invalidated and returned to him. He sold these and other postage stamps reprinted from the original plates to collectors at a fraction of their face value.

7.) The China “Special Delivery Issue (1913-1914) – It’s the world’s largest stamp, printed in strips with five different designs.

8.) The U.S. “Inverted Airmail” (1918) – Inverted Jenny.

9.) The Germany “Inflation Issue” (1923) – Due to rampant inflation, Germany had to issue stamps at very high values. The stamp valued at 50 million marks represents one of the highest denominations ever to appear on postage stamps. It became one of rare and valuable postage stamps from Germany.

10.) The U.S. “Dag Hammarskjold Error,” (1962) – Two collectors, one in New Jersey and one in Ohio, each bought a sheet of this commemorative, which had the yellow background inverted. On discovering the existence of the error, the Post Office Dept. reissued the stamp with the error and eliminated the premium value of the original sheets.

11.) The U.S. “Farley’s Follies” (1935) – Postmaster General James A. Farley favored selected friends and VIPs, especially President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by giving them ungummed and imperforated sheets of certain commemorative issues. After strong and continued protests from American stamp collectors, the government was forced to reissue the postage stamps in an ungummed and imperforated form and make them available to the general public.

The value of old postage stamps and the rarest of them are becoming higher and higher as the demands from stamp collectors not just from the United Kingdom but from around the world are increasing rapidly.