… 1847-1857 America's First Stamps1861-1869 Civil War Era and the 1869 Pictorials1870-1875 The Banknote Stamps Part IThe stamps of the National and Continental Banknote Companies.1870-1875 The Banknote Stamps Part IIThe stamps of the American Banknote Company.1893 The ColumbiansThe first commemorative series in the US.1894-1898 The Bureau IssuesThe Bureau of Engraving and Printing takes over US stamp production.The 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exhibition One possibility is that they are at once so many things: they’re art, they’re history, they’re antiques, they’re money, they’re miniatures—all wrapped up in the romanticism of the letters they set into motion. But long before, the Crown had named him postmaster general of the American colonies in 1753, a post he shared with William Hunter. Baden 9 Kreuzer error is the most valuable German stamp with only 4 specimens left in existence. The “stamp” was applied to paper to denote that the tax had been paid. This stamp was a copy of the famous painting by John Vanderlyn and a feature of the stamp … Blue Hawaiian missionary stamp (courtesy of Siegel Auction Gallery); Stanley Donen’s 1963 comedy Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The first one took place in 1996 and Treskilling Yellow stamp was sold for 2.8 million Swiss francs (or roughly $2.2 million at that time). The Plate 77 Penny Red is currently the most expensive stamp that trader Stanley Gibbons has ever sold, with a rare version going for £550,000 back in 2012. This unique philatelic rarity was sold for $575,000 at Robert A Siegel sale that took place in June, 2008. Franklin was fired from that job when, in 1774, it was discovered that he had been opening mail (between English authorities) and feeding the correspondences’ contents to his rebel friends—in what’s become known as the Hutchinson Affair. Alleged to be the world's rarest and most valuable stamps, these stamps were sold at an auction in 1970 for $280,000. The Hobbizine United States Stamp Value Guide provides market prices for stamps in both mint and used condition. The lowest denomination, the 1851 two cent version, is the most interesting of the set, with only about 16 copies known to exist today. It takes half the time and precision when it comes to applying a fierce and feline flick. Spelled out in red letters, the denomination number flows over into the blue-framed flags through the red shield. The usual explanation for the occurrence of this mistake is that the printing plate was accidentally inverted, however, this theory cannot be correct because the stamp was produced in a single printing. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. They featured an image of a sailing ship, the lettering “Black Guiana” and an inscription of the colony's Latin motto "Damus Petimus que Vicissim" ("We Give and We Seek in Return"). At an auction in 2016, one of the stamps sold for more than $1.3M. The auction house said the stamp was sold to an on-line bidder in the United States, who was described by a spokesman as “based in France”. Due to the oddly placed denomination and the confusing arrangement of colors, the stamp was often criticized as an example of a bad design. If you think stamp collecting is just for hobbyists and not something a shrewd investor would consider, you may want to think again. In 1963, Life magazine said this stamp “Pound for pound, is the most valuable substance on earth.” The stamp dates back to 1851, when Hawaii was a sovereign nation and a popular destination for American missionaries spreading the gospel. “None of the first day’s mail made it,” says Scott Trepel, president of Siegel Auction House. The error only appeared on a single sheet of 100 stamps, which has since been broken up, so that mostly single examples of the stamp exist, though there remain two blocks of four. These stamps were produced in 1978 and, due to an error, the 13p postage price failed to get printed on the stamp. Here is a list of 10 of the most valuable and rarest postage stamps in history. Then the stamps were separated sometime before the private treaty sale in Switzerland of a portion of the Ferrary collection. A famous Baden 9 Kreuzer was sold for $1,545,000 by David Feldman on April 3, 2008. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The NYSE was unofficially created on May 17, 1792, when 24 stock brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which stated that the brokers could only trade with each other and that they were to earn a commission of 0.25 percent. The first Hawaiian stamps appeared in 1851. Pan American invert stamp (courtesy of Siegel Auction Gallery); The assassination of President McKinley. Postmasters got creative with the designs. Of these, a $1 stamp—depicting a colonial rush lamp and candle holder—was printed as an invert on a single sheet of 100 stamps. The Jennies—military biplanes—were modified for government airmail service with extra fuel tanks, a different engine, and a hopper for mail. In the world of U.S. stamp collecting, the Blue Boy is akin to the Mona Lisa. The unique block of 24c Declaration of Independence stamp with inverted  center was offered by Robert A Siegel at its auction of William Gross’ collection in October, 2018. An unused pair of the 1908 Benjamin Franklin stamps was sold for $310,000 at Siegel auction that took place in April, 2015. The item we are talking about relates to the Ib type. Some old and used stamps can be very valuable and ordinary-looking items can be expensive if they wear a so-called secret mark. Welcome to the Postal Store at USPS.com! McKinley was shot twice at close range by anarchist Leon Czolgosz as he greeted admirers at the fair. Stamp collecting is often a hidden passion, yet rare U.S. stamps are history, art, even antiques — and can be worth life-changing amounts of money. Look for tears or creases on the stamp. The most comprehensive price list of GB stamps available on the Internet, with over 40,000 items priced and listed. One of the finest specimens of this impressive issue was sold for $900,000 by Robert A Siegel in October, 2008. The 1c Benjamin Franklin stamp issued in 1868 features a rare Z-grill with horizontal ridges, just like two other designs from the series depicting Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. It is widely known as the Washington-Franklin issue, since it mainly focused on these two politicians. Sicily error of color is considered to be the most expensive Italian stamp. The 24 cent stamp uses a G grill and comes with split grill, double grill or basic gum. Mistakes sometimes yield great value, as demonstrated by this entrant on our list of most valuable American stamps. July 2019 United States Seven such stamps are known to exist, but most of them are “buff” or a brownish-yellow color. The plane depicted on the stamp is the JN-4HM, built by the Curtiss company in the middle of World War I (95 percent of U.S. pilots trained on JN-4s during WWI). In 1856, the former colony of British Guiana urgently required an extra supply of stamps and couldn’t wait for a fresh stock of new stamps to arrive from England where they were normally produced. Mint condition specimens have appreciated by up to 45.5% over the past 10 years, according to analysis by StampFinder for Forbes, easily beating typical returns on real estate, gold, fine wine and the broad stock market. The Post Office Department used his profile taken from Houdon’s bust for multiple stamp designs starting from 1847. Issued on 10 May 1918, this is the USA stamp that has a face value of 24 cents. The Shield, Eagle and Flags stamp belongs to the 1869 pictorial issue that included ten items worth between 1 and 90 cents. Study the Quality of the Stamp An unused pair of 1908 Benjamin Franklin stamps is estimated to have a current value of $100,000. So not every stamp that looks like a stamp that appears on this page can be that expensive. Feb 25, 2020 - Explore La Dolca Vita's board "100 Most Valuable Stamps", followed by 908 people on Pinterest. While some could be firsts of their kind, others could be a printing mistake. The series was the first to feature something other than national leader portraits. They were exhibited first at the Manchester Philatelic Exposition in 1899. Face value: Stamps with higher face value typically add to a collection’s value — of course, higher original price would add to the value. Age: Modern stamps have very limited value, usually just a small percentage of face value. However, our main interest lies with the three cent B grill stamp in rose printing. According to philatelic experts, less than 30 individual copies of Post Office Mauritius have survived until today. Surrounded by a green border with red numerals, the inverted images include one scene of modern traders, depicted standing beneath a hub of monitors on the stock exchange, and an exterior view of the exchange’s neoclassical facade, at 11 Wall Street. The Basel Dove is a stamp … Without him, the U.S. would have never become the strong, prosperous and influential country it is now. Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images). He died from his injuries eight days later (his vice president, Teddy Roosevelt, had been so confident of the president’s recovery, he went camping in the Adirondacks). British Guiana 1-Cent Magenta, 1856. It was levied on American paper used for legal, official or everyday useful documents: ship’s papers, business licenses, calendars, declarations, inventory, etc. Any stamps with errors or mistakes are coveted by collectors. Columbus and his crew reached the previously unknown land in 1492 and thus put America on the map for the entire Europe. Negligence in merging the two processes led to the appearance of rare inverts. There was a stamp from 1978 which was worth 13p and is now worth £130,000. Of particular interest are such provisional stamps from Alexandria, which was retroceded to the state of Virginia (from the District of Columbia) in these years. That’s why there is no universal rule as to the placement of the watermark on the item and each individual variation is eligible for sale. Presently, only 100 of these stamps … While the money demanded by the act was quite low and the act was repealed the following year, the damage was done. June 2008 Russia 1935 San Francisco surcharge, small Cyrillic "f" in "San Francisco", surcharge inverted PR: $718,750.00. At Apfelbaum Inc, we have many rare United States stamps for collectors available. 1924 10k on 5r green type II, basic stamp wide "5", complete pane of 25, unique PR: $805,000.00. 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