Posts Tagged ‘Hawaiian Missionaries’

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!

Mail in Hawaii used to be carried by ships with no official postal system in place. However, by 1851, traffic in Hawaii was high enough that the government set up a postal office and established official postal rates.

On 1st October, 1851 The stamps went on sale in three denominations covering three rates: the 2-cent stamp was for newspapers going to the US, the 5-cent value was for regular mail to the US, and the 13-cent value was for mail to the US East Coast, combining the 5 cents of Hawaiian postage, a 2-cent ship fee, and 6 cents to cover the transcontinental US rate. These stamps are most often used by missionaries working there at the time.

The top line read “Hawaiian / Postage” for the 2- and 5-cent values, but “H.I. & U.S. / Postage” for the 13-cent value, reflecting its unusual role of paying two different countries’ postage. And design of these stamps was very simple, having a central numeral of the denomination framed by a standard ornament and the denomination repeated in words at the bottom.

Till now there are only 200 stamps of Hawaiian Missionaries have survived, including all values.

The 2-cent is the rarest of the Hawaiian Missionaries, with only 15 copies existing. In 1921 the 2 cent Missionary stamp was sold for US$15,000 and in 1963 the same stamp sold for US$41,000. And Present estimated value of these 2 cent Hawaiian Missionaries stamp is £450,000 for unused copy and £225,000 for used copy.

An interesting story about this stamp is: in 1892, one of its earlier owners, Gaston Leroux, was murdered for it by an envious fellow philatelist, Hector Giroux.

An envelope containing a 2 cent and 5 cent Hawaiian Missionary stamp (as well as two other 3 cent stamps) survived to this day and is known as the Dawson Cover, in the 1995 Siegel auction it realized a price of US$1.9 million, and was last sold publicly for $2.09 million, making it one of the highest-priced of all philatelic items.