One of the most exciting hobbies is philately. Collectors collecting postage stamps periodically hold meetings at which they exchange rare items and discuss new finds. At first glance, this lesson seems like a waste of time. However, over time, it can turn into a rather profitable investment.
This possibility exists due to the constant rise in prices for rare brands. Most often, the high cost of a rarity can be explained by the marriage allowed when printing it. What are they, the most expensive postage stamps in the world?
The Holy Grail
This is the most expensive brand in the world was released in the United States. Currently, its value is estimated at $ 2,970,000. This one-cent postage stamp was issued in 1868. It depicts Benjamin Franklin, the first postmaster in the United States. The brand has wafers (a lattice pressed on the back). This technique is typical for issues that were produced in the 1860s.
Currently, it is known where 2 copies of this rarity are stored. One of them can be admired in the public library, which is located in New York, and the second was bought by a private collector at the Siegel auction in 1998 for 935 thousand dollars. In 2005, this copy was exchanged for the “Inverted Jenny” quarter block, which was estimated at $ 2,970,000.
Sicilian color error
The second place in the ranking of “The most expensive brand in the world” took rarity worth $ 2 720 000. It was issued in Sicily. This rarity opens the lineup, which includes the most expensive postage stamps in the world with a color error.
In 1859, only one postal series was released in the Sicilian kingdom. It included seven brands. Already in 1860, in connection with the process of unification of Italy, defective copies were withdrawn from circulation.
The brand of the smallest denomination was issued in the correct, yellow color. However, even he has various shades from bright yellow to orange. The price of one copy can diverge dozens of times and pass for thirty thousand euros.
Yellow triskillingovik
The next most expensive brand in the world is a copy released in 1855 in Sweden. Interest in it can be explained by a color error. Three-scilling marks of the right tones were printed in green. However, because of someone’s oversight, a rarity arose that attracted the attention of philatelists. Currently, there is only one copy of this series of stamps. "Swedish unique" in 1996 at the Feldman auction was purchased for $ 2,300,000.
Baden color error
This rarity takes the fourth position in the rating, which includes the most expensive postage stamps in the world. The famous “Baden color error” is a copy with a black pattern printed on blue-green paper.
The nominal value of this brand is nine cruisers. It is one of the copies of the first series produced by the Duchy of Baden in 1851. This issue included stamps of 4 face values, which were printed on paper in various colors. Nine cruisers printed on a pink sheet. However, a certain misunderstanding occurred. As a result, one of the sheets of this denomination was printed using green paper, which was used for stamps of lower cost.
Four copies of rarity have survived to this day. In 2008, the Baden Color Error brand was purchased at Feldman’s auction for $ 2,000,000.
"Blue Mauritius"
This expensive rarity is one of the very first issued postage stamps, whose homeland is the island of Mauritius. In 1847, two types of these copies were simultaneously printed. One of them had a denomination of one cent and had an orange color. The second, blue, was worth twice as much.
Currently, there are twelve copies of Blue Mauritius in the philatelist collections. The cost of one brand formed at the auction amounted to 1,150,000 dollars.
“The whole country is red”
The ranking “The most expensive brand in the world” also includes unreleased rarities. One of them is the series “The whole country is red”. This is a relatively "young" postage stamp. Its release was scheduled in China in 1968. In 2012, one of the copies of this series was sold at auction for 1,150,000 dollars.
"Pink Mauritius"
In the original, which is “correct”, the color orange is used. However, the interest of philatelists is “Pink Mauritius”. Currently, fourteen copies of this rarity are known. In 1993, a rare brand was bought at auction for $ 1.070 million.
"Inverted Jenny"
This expensive rarity was released in the USA in 1918. The face value of the brand is twenty-four cents. Some sheets of this issue mistakenly display the aircraft inverted. The marriage was destroyed. However, one sheet was still preserved and went on sale. In 2007, one of the four currently known copies of “Inverted Jenny” was sold for $ 977,500.
British Guiana
This rarity collectors gave another name - "Princess of Philately." This brand has an octagonal shape. It was released on the territory of British Guiana in 1856.
Its face value is one cent. Rarity is printed using black ink, which was applied to red paper. In the center of the mark is an image of a three-masted schooner. On rare book there is a cancellation and handwritten signature of E. White. At the auctions held in 1980, the British Guiana brand was purchased for 935 thousand dollars.
“Tiflis is unique”
On the tenth place in the list of “Most Expensive World Brands” is a rarity, the cost of which is estimated at 763.6 thousand dollars. “Tiflis Unique” was released in 1857 for the needs of the city post office. In fact, this is the first brand of Russia. At present, only four copies of the Tiflis Unique have been preserved.
Rare Books of the Soviet Union
The philatelists are also interested in expensive postage stamps of the USSR. The cost of one of them, “Levanevsky with an overprint”, was estimated at 603,705 dollars. There are also many rare stamps that have a pretty impressive price and are welcome for collectors. This list includes the rarity of "To the stars."
There are several types of these brands. Some of them are overprinted, while others are not. The “Twenty-five years of SP-1 station”, “Green block”, as well as “Philological exhibition” are rare. These five brands are estimated at fifteen thousand rubles.