Red Mercury
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.
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