British Guiana - 1856

Made in limited quantities in 1856 for use on local newspapers, there is only one known specimen to still exist. 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". The stamp's country of issue and value surround the ship design. [p]This specimen was found in 1873, by then 12-year-old Vernon Vaughan in the Guyanese town of Demerara. He sold the stamp for two shillings, the equivalent of no more than $2.50. The current owner of the stamp, who is serving a thirty-year jail sentence, purchased it in 1980 for the sum of $935,000.

Sweden - 1855 3 Skilling Color Error

The first stamp produced by Sweden in 1855 was normally printed in a blue-green color, however this rare stamp was mistakingly printed in a yellow orange shade. It is thought that this color variation occurred when a printing cliche of the 3 Skilling value was switched for a 8 Skilling value of the same issue. There is only one known specimen of this error, found in 1885 by a young boy in Stockholm named Georg Wilhelm Backman, while going through his grandmothers letters. While this stamp has gone through many hands, its most recent owner bought it at auction on November 8, 1996 for the sum of $2.27 Million Dollars.

British Guiana -1851 Cottonreel Stamp

Known as Cottonreel stamps, because they closely resemble the circular labels found on spools of cotton, there are only ten known specimens still in existance. These circular stamps were among the first stamps produced by British Guiana and, today, are valued at over $70,000.

France - 1850 25¢ blue unwatermarked tete-beche pair

French for "head-to-tail" or literally translated as "head-to-head," tete-beche refers to pairs of stamps joined together with one image upside-down in relation to the other. A tete-beche pair may be joined vertically or a horizontally. Many tete-beche issues are produced intentionally for collectors, however, high valued issues were the result of a printing error made during production. The error occurs when a die or cliche is positioned incorrectly for one or more stamps. It has been suggested, however, that printer Anatole A. Hulot intentionally inserted some of the cliches upside-down as a control for the detection of forged sheets. The 1850 25¢ blue unwatermarked tete-beche pair has a value in today's market of $140,000.

France - 1850 15¢ tete-beche pair

French for "head-to-tail" or literally translated as "head-to-head," tete-beche refers to pairs of stamps joined together with one image upside-down in relation to the other. A tete-beche pair may be joined vertically or a horizontally. Many tete-beche issues are produced intentionally for collectors, however, high valued issues were the result of a printing error made during production. The error occurs when a die or cliche is positioned incorrectly for one or more stamps. It has been suggested, however, that printer Anatole A. Hulot intentionally inserted some of the cliches upside-down as a control for the detection of forged sheets.
It is suggested in the original run of 900,000 stamps printed with the second plate in a two plate process, one tete-beche cliche occurred at position 80 creating 6,000 1850 15¢ Tete-Beche pairs. Most of the errors were used during 1850-1853 as singles for the local mailing rate, in fact there is only one known copy of the pair known to exist today. Originally mailed on a cover from Paris to New Orleans in 1852, the cover was bought by noted collector Count Philipp la Renotiere von Ferray some 44 years later for the sum of 7,500 francs ($1,683 USD). The stamp was sold in a 1924 Ferray auction and disappeared from public eye until 1989, where it resurfaced at the PhlexFrance '89 Exposition. In 2003, the original cover sold at a Spink and Behr auction for the sum of $301,000.

France - 1849 1f Vervelle Tete-Beche Pair

French for "head-to-tail" or literally translated as "head-to-head," tete-beche refers to pairs of stamps joined together with one image upside-down in relation to the other. A tete-beche pair may be joined vertically or a horizontally. Many tete-beche issues are produced intentionally for collectors, however, high valued issues were the result of a printing error made during production. The error occurs when a die or cliche is positioned incorrectly for one or more stamps. It has been suggested, however, that printer Anatole A. Hulot intentionally inserted some of the cliches upside-down as a control for the detection of forged sheets. The 1849 French Vervelle Tete-Beche pair was named after Ernest Vervelle, a Parisian delaer, who bought an ungummed sheet of the stamps in 1895 from the effects of printer Hulot. It has a value in today's market of $500,000.

Bavaria 1849 1 Kreuzer Black Tete-Beche Pair

Printed in 1849, the 1 Kreuzer Black issue was one of the first stamps issued in the German State of Bavaria. Originally printed in panes of forty-five stamps, the tete-beche varieties were created when a few cliches were mistakingly inserted into the printing plate upside-down. It is unknown how many of the stamps were printed in with the inverted plates, but only three tete-beches are known to exist today. Each of the three tete-beche pairs have a different position and no tete-beche varieties are found in any of the complete panes still in existence. A block of twelve stamps featuring a tete-beche variety was originally found in the Ferrari collection. In 1923, at a Paris auction, the block was sold to New York native Alfred F. Lichtenstein, a rarities collector referred to by many as "the philatelist's philatelist." Upon his death, his daughter, Louise Boyd Dale, inherited the error block where it was kept by the Anne Boyd Lichtenstein Foundation until 1990. The 1849 Bavaria 1 Kreuzer tete-beche pair has a value in today's market of $125,000.

Baden - 1851 Baden 9k Green Error

The Baden color error, 9 kreuzer Black on Green, was issued by the German Empire State in 1851. Since its discovery in 1894, 43 years later, the Baden error has only been up for auction a total of four times. There are only four known examples of the color error, three are cancelled, and only one is in mint condtion. This mint example first sold at a Berlin auction in 1919. In 1997, it again sold for the sum of $603,750.

Bermuda - 1848 Postmaster Provisionals

rinted in 1848, shortly after Hamilton was incorporated as the Capital of Bermuda, the Bermuda Postmaster Provisionals were a means of protecting the post office from short changers. Postmaster William Bennet Perot and his friend J. B. Heyl were responsible for the design of these "Perot Provisionals," so named after Perot himself. Perot handwrote the "1 penny" above the year stamp and placed his signature below. There are only 11 known copies of the Perot Provisionals. Most are owned by members of European royalty included the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth. This specimen is a black printed issue on bluish paper. It has Perot's handwritten denomination and signature. It has a value in today's market of over $100,000.

Switzerland 1843 - Geneva Pair

Geneva issued its first stamp on October 1, 1843, shortly after the canton Zürich issued its own stamp on March 1, 1843, making it the second oldest stamp in the European continent. The "Double Geneva," consisted of a pair of stamps printed in black on yellow-green paper. Each stamp bared the city's arms, and the inscription "Poste de Genéve" at the top and "Port local" at the bottom. An additional inscription, "10 PORT CANTONAL Cent" was printed on the top of each pair. Customers could cut out a single stamp to pay the intra-commune rate, or keep the pair together to pay the inter-commune rate. Only 6,000 of these double issues were printed, and in today's market they have a value of around $45,000

US - 1846 Millbury Massachusetts

This specimen is an unused five cent black on bluish paper. It has an estimated market value of $130,000.
Issued in 1846 by stamp postmaster Asa Holman Waters, the Millbury Provisional is only one of two United States provisionals with a portrait as part of the design. It is widely accepted that the portrait in the Millbury provisional is that of President George Washington. The Millbury provisional is, also, one of few provisionals where the term "Post Office" appears without a town name. There are only 18 known examples of the Millbury Provisional, three on pieces, and some with a circular date stamp with the town name mis-spelled "Milbury." The earliest documented use of the Millbury Provisional was on August 21, 1846. This specimen is an unused example with a value in today's market of $130,000.

1847 Mauritius

The 1847 Mauritius One Penny and Two Pence Post Office was one of the first stamps authorized by any British colonial government, the other being the Mauritius Two Pence Post Office. Designed by local engraver Joseph O. Barnard, the Mauritius issues feature an image of Queen Victoria and the inscription "Post Office" along the left edge. This inscription was later correct to read "Post Paid" on the next issuance of these stamps. There is only one known copy of the unused one penny issue bearing the Post Office inscription. In 1993, a copy from the Hiroyuki Kanai collection sold at a David Feldman auction for the sum of $1,072,260. A cover bearing both a one penny and a two pence issue, sold at the same auction for $3,829,500, the highest selling philatelic item to date.