Posts Tagged ‘British Guiana’

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!

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.

Famous Stamps can be found in nearly all of the postage systems in the world, and are often over a century old.  To know more information on any stamp issue, browse our articles.

The rarest stamp in the world is the one cent black on magenta British Guiana stamp of 1856. In 1856 this colony was awaiting a supply of stamps from England but the postmaster could not wait for the delivery of stamps from England and asked the local newspaper to print some 1 and 4 cent stamps. It features a ship, printed in black ink on magenta colored paper, along with the Latin motto “Damus Petimus Que Vicissim” or, translated, “We give and expect in return”.

Only copy of the British Guiana 1c Magenta was discovered by Vernon Vaughan, a 12 year old Scottish schoolboy while looking through his uncle’s letters.  Of the 1 c value only one specimen is known to-day, and that is in the collection of M. Philipp la Renotiere (Herr von Ferrary). Doubts have been expressed as to the genuineness of the copy, but Mr. Bacon, who has had an opportunity of inspecting it, says: “After a most careful inspection I have no hesitation whatever in pronouncing it a thoroughly genuine one cent specimen. The copy is a poor one, dark magenta in color, and somewhat rubbed. It is initialed ‘E. D. W.’, and dated April 1st, the year not being distinct enough to be read.”

This is also the only British Empire stamp that the queen of England does not have in her collection.

It was sold in the 1870′s for about a dollar and it is currently valued at $1,000,000!

There are several other famous rarities, but no single stamp is as rare, famous or valuable as the one cent British Guiana Stamp.