When stamps first went on sale back on July 1, 1847, who would have guessed that they’d become coveted collectibles over the centuries? Perhaps the children who started collecting them as early as the 1860s.
While writing letters and running to the post office hasn’t been a common occurrence for a number of decades, stamp collecting has continued to bloom. With the most valuable stamps (and the rarest) in the world listed below, you can see why despite being a Nerdable collectible (as all things are on this site), those who own the most valuable stamps are having the last laugh.
13. Buenos Aires 1p 1859
The Buenos Aires 1859 1p “In Ps” tete-beche pair (which is French for head-to-tail, meaning its joined pair of stamps) is one of the most valuable stamps in the world due to its famous painting errors. Along with that, it’s the only “tete-beche” pair of postage stamps produced on the territory of the State of Buenos Aires.
With only one copy of the pair left, the stamp was originally worth 1 peso, but now it’s worth half a million. The stamp was sold at Robert A Siegel sale for $575,000 in 2008, with the auction house describing it as the only surviving tete-beche pair of the Barquitos issue.
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12. Tiflis Stamp 1857
Fiflis Unique was issued in the Russian Empire (now the Georgia Republic) and is one of the most valuable stamps in the world. It first appeared in 1857 and is considered the first postage stamp in Russia.
Interestingly enough, only five of these stamps have been preserved, adding to their rarity and price. In fact, one of these stamps was sold for over $700,000 in 2008 at the David Feldman auction.
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11. 10 Cent-on-9-Candareen Dark Green Stamp 1897
1897’s 10-cent-on-9-candareen dark green Dragons and Shou stamp with the 10-cent surcharge inverted is considered one of the most valuable stamps in the world. It’s also one of the most expensive stamps in Chinese philately. The stamp is from China’s Empress Dowager issue, and only three examples of the stamp have been recorded.
The only unused copy of the collectible stamp was offered during the Spink auction in Hong Kong in 2019, which fetched a recorded price of around $930,000, an outstanding amount for such a priceless stamp.
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10. Red Revenue 1897
Stamps today cost less than a dollar. For books, you might spend around $13 or $15. But did you know that the most valuable stamps right now cost upwards of a million dollars? That’s right.
The first entry on the list is the Red Revenue, which is valued at a staggering $1.2 million. These rare stamps are very limited and have an exquisite and sleek design.
There are several varieties of the Red Revenue, each being highly sought after, but the Small One Dollar one is the most valuable out of them all. It’s been called
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9. Z Grill 1868
Issued in 1868, this stamp features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin and is considered one of the rarest and most valuable stamps around.
The embossing, which is known as grilling, was intended to prevent postage stamps from being reused, as it was getting more and more common for people to wash off the cancel marks and reuse the stamp, which is illegal. The reason this stamp is so valuable is that only two exist anymore.
One was part of the estate of philatelist Robert Zoellner and was purchased at an auction in 1998 by Bill Gross. He then exchanged it for a block of four Inverted Jenny stamps valued at $3 million, making the Z-Grill equal to that value. The other known example is at the New York Public Library as part of the Benjamin Miller Collection.
8. Inverted Declaration of Independence 1869
In 2008, the inverted Declaration of Independence broke the highest value of sale for an inverted stamp – coming in at $1.2 million.
Being the first US stamps to be printed in two colors, these stamps required additional work to produce. Since these stamps had to be printed twice, printing carelessly would result in an inverted frame-image stamp – hence why they’re so rare.
While these pictorial stamps were withdrawn within a year of their release back in the 1800s, they are said to be the most popular between the 1840s and 1870s series of Classic Stamps. Just like several others on this list, finding one is a complicated task.
7. Baden 9 Kreuzer Error 1894
Who would have thought that a list of the most valuable stamps around the world would be filled with more error-filled stamps rather than the perfect ones?
This rare German stamp made its way on the list due to the printer’s error of reading the ordered “6” color as a “9,” which led to the stamp being printed as a sharp green.
One copy of the Kreuzer was sold in 2008 for $1.5 million. However, there were only two copies of the stamp until the philatelic club meeting in 1894, where Baron von Turckheim discovered two additional stamps.
Surprisingly, it is believed that there has been an addition to the number in 2019 as an American found another Baden 9 stamp in his family album. We might never know how many there could be in total.
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6. Inverted Jenny 1918
Another significant error stamp that paved its way in history was the Inverted Jenny, 1918 of the USA.
Featuring the image of a Curtiss JN-4, the stamp was mistakenly sold by a Washington, DC clerk who had never been able to witness the sight of a plane.
However, collectors are thankful to him as this 24-cent face-value stamp was most recently sold for $1.593 million.
Even though there are approximately 86 other stamps in circulation, this particular stamp had been away from sun, light, and other exposures, making it one of the most pristine and valuable stamps.
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5. The Whole Country is Red 1968
With a worker, farmer, and soldier featured on the front, this red stamp could only be issued for half a day. The stamp outlined and colored the entire country of China in red.
However, they only bordered the Island of Taiwan. Soon, controversies began, and the roll-out of the stamps had to be stopped. Issued during the Cultural Revolution of 1968 in China, all the stamp copies had to be returned.
However, a few had made their way into private collections. Today, with only nine of these in existence, one sold in 2018 for $2 million.
4. Treskilling Yellow 1855
The truth behind the misprinted or faltered historical valuable stamps comes to light with the Swedish 1855 Treskilling Yellow.
The prices of this to-be green stamp have been unknown since its sale in 2010. While the stamp was sold for $2.3 million in 1996, its sale prices in 2010 and 2014 have remained a mystery.
However, when it made its 2010 sale, David Feldman claimed that the price was higher than any of the stamps sold before. As the #1 on this list was not in the picture back in 2010, Treskilling remained the market leader.
Even though both these stamps exchanged another pair of hands in 2014, the undisclosed price of Treskilling gives it the second position on the list. With just one Treskilling in circulation, collectors believe that there are several others to be found.
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3. Error of Color 1859
With a blue background instead of the planned yellow-orange, the Sicilian Error of Color is one of today’s most well-preserved valuable stamps.
While other stamps wait to be discovered, the Error of Color has made its mark by being fresh and looking like it has been printed recently. Featuring a sharp bearded man, the costliest Italian stamp was sold online for $2.6 million in 2011 at an auction.
With just two stamps in existence today, the fine condition and history of these stamps are the reason behind their rarity.
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2. Mauritius Post Office Stamp
There are a couple of reasons behind the importance of the Mauritius pair of post office stamps. Firstly, these stamps were the first British Empire stamps that were made outside the country. Secondly, the stamps were always sold in pairs.
With a pair of “One Penny Red” and “Two Penny Blue”, the stamps were last sold in 1993 for $3.83 million.
Lastly, the local Mauritius watchmaker who had received the contract printed the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid” on the stamps.
This error in the printing process could not be figured out until 200 pairs had already been distributed. However, out of the total 200, only 30 have survived till the 21st century.
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1. British Guiana 1-Cent Magenta 1856
With the first stamp being sold for only six shillings, who would have believed that the British Guiana would become the most valuable stamp ever to be sold at $9.48 million in 2014?
When the postmaster general of British Guiana ordered three different stamps to be made in 1856, the shipment soon went missing, causing an emergency production.
However, this was the only copy of the production run that is known to exist today. After exchanging a couple of hands, the current owner of this rare stamp is the high-end shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.
