1840 One Penny Black

The first issued stamps, One Penny Blacks, are not extraordinarily rare. Yet one sold over 15 years ago at auction for over $2.4 million.

Photo: (Click to see larger image) Authentic world’s first prepaid stamp, the Penny Black, Great Britain 1840 with a red Maltese Cross cancellation.

1847 Post Office Mauritius

Issued on the authorization of the Governor of a British colony in the Indian Ocean, the Mauritius is both rare and – like many valuable stamps – flawed. The designer incorrectly printed the words ‘Post Office’ rather than ‘Post Paid’ on the stamps, of which around 200 were produced. Only a few dozen remain and a cover with two stamps affixed sold at auction for $3.8 million over ten years ago.

Photo: A Mauritian Blue Penny taken by Petr Kalivoda used under GNU license.

1851 Hawaiian Missionaries

Hawaii issued its first stamps long before gaining statehood. Used as postage by missionaries, the 2-cent variety has become so rare that only 16 instances are known to exist. If you find one, you can expect to sell it for anywhere from $200,000 to about $800,000 depending on its condition. But the 5-cent and 13-cent issued around the same period can bring a pretty penny, as well.

1855 Tre Skilling Banco Yellow

One of the most famous of all stamps, this Swedish issue was printed in error. Tre (or ‘three’) skilling stamps in Sweden were printed on green colored paper, while yellow was reserved for the eight skilling issue.

One Tre Skilling Yellow sample was found in 1885 by a young Swedish lad, 14-year old Georg Backman, in his grandfather’s collection. Through the years this stamp has sold at various auctions with the latest one fetching over $2.24 million ten years ago.

There are no other samples known, making it the rarest stamp known to exist.

1856 British Guiana One Cent Black on Magenta

Long the superstar of the stamp world, the 1 cent British Guiana is among the rarest stamps on the planet. Produced in this remote colony, the issue is a rectangle with clipped corners. Individually hand-initialed by a post-office employee, one sold at auction over 25 years ago for $935,000.

1867 Z-Grills

Benjamin Franklin would be delighted were he to discover the price paid for an 1867 Z-Grill. Z-Grills are imprinted with a rectangular pattern that depicts the face of the author of Poor Richard’s Almanac. The pattern was an anti-cheating device, but used only for a short time. Only two are known to exist and one sold for $938,000 at auction nearly 20 years ago.

The Latin saying ‘De Gustibus Non Disputandum’ (’There’s no disputing taste’) is nowhere more true than in stamp collecting. Many would regard these examples as little more than interesting curios of paper and ink. But to the philatelist with a passion for history, detective work and the joy of collecting they are priceless. Or, nearly so.

Related posts:

1. Stamps: Collecting Perfins
2. Stamps As Investments
3. Stamp Collecting: Forgeries

Perfins are stamps, invented in Great Britain, that have perforations not alongside the stamp, but inside it. The pattern of holes was used (and still is in some places) to indicate a cancellation and provide information.

Before the invention of postage meters in the 1920s, several methods for indicating that a stamp had been used and processed were devised. Since stamps were often used in that period as a substitute for money in small transaction, it was especially important to have a way of indicating cancellation.

The alternative was an active amount of theft of small amounts by postal employees themselves. A black market developed that traded in stamps, which perfins helped suppress.

One great thing about perfins is that they are almost guaranteed to be more valuable since they are less common. They fell out of active use in the UK and other countries after other technology developed.

Identifying a stamp as a perfin is easy and obvious, but narrowing down the issue requires a fascinating effort of research. The patterns could indicate date, postal office or other information. As a result these unique markings can turn an otherwise ordinary issue into a valuable collectible.

Stamps from the 1920s or earlier can be of little value, despite their age. Age is a factor, but rarity is the key. If there are a million stamps of a particular issue the sample is going to be worth much less. A perfin from, say, an Irish post office on the day of IRA leader Michael Collins’ arrest could well be worth more than an ordinary stamp.

Perfin patterns can vary in other ways, such as being punched from the back rather than the front. Such ‘mistakes’ can increase the value of a stamp as well. Unfortunately, it can make mounting a bit of a challenge, since you may want to be able to read the pattern again later for further research.

To resolve that problem, you can employ a clear plastic mount, making it easy to see the stamp from both sides. Mounting on an ordinary hinge is possible, too, but it’s best not to stress the hinge by repeated viewings.

Expand your collection in new and unusual ways by adding perfins.

Related posts:

1. Supplemental Stamp Collectibles
2. Stamps As Investments
3. Collecting Stamps: Watermarks

The motives for producing counterfeit stamps is no doubt very much the same as for forging currency: to increase the value of a piece of paper otherwise worth much less. The methods are often ingenious, since practitioners have had over 150 years of techniques from which to learn. Counterfeiting stamps has been going on since they were first produced.

Making fake stamps to evade the cost of ordinary postage is rarely worth the effort. But when the price of a stamp – such as the Tre Skilling Banco Yellow – can reach $2.2 million at auction, there is some incentive to try forging rare samples.

Even far less expensive items may incent a counterfeiter, however. Just as producing counterfeit $20 bills can be profitable if you make and pass enough of them, so it is with stamps. And there are a great many stamps that sell anywhere from a few dollars to a $100 or more that are in wide circulation. Producing a thousand of the latter could lead to a tidy illegitimate profit.

The value of stamps, like coins, varies with condition. In general, other things being equal, a stamp that is in better shape will fetch more – particularly if it’s an older issue. Counterfeiters know this, of course, and one relatively inexpensive and simple technique used is to simply repair the stamps.

Ink stains can be removed, tears mended, backs re-gummed, hinge marks improved… nearly any degradation that can occur can be (at least partially) reversed. Modern technology has come to the aid not only of conservationists but the counterfeiters as well.

Of course, as with any practice in any collectible, some will argue that repairs don’t constitute forgery. After all, centuries-old paintings are restored every day. And there’s some merit to that position. But cleaning decades or more of accumulated chemical damage to the surface of a painting isn’t an attempt to pass it off as new or in mint condition.

Tears, ink stains and some other kinds of ‘damage’ may well be part of the history of a particular issue or individual stamp. If the Princess Sforza tore an 1899 Hungarian while mailing a letter to her lover, repairing the damage is re-writing history. And it’s that history, in part, that gives value to the stamp.

Forgeries sometimes go beyond attempts to fake a particular stamp. Since, in some cases, part of the value is the cover (envelope, packaging, etc) to which the stamp was affixed, these too are sometimes counterfeited.

Postal marks, the paper used, handwriting on the envelope and other elements are all part of the totality of the artifact. Forgers learn their craft well and can fake anyone of these elements in an attempt to create a valuable collectible out of worthless scraps of paper.

Identifying forgeries is an interesting bit of detective work, often best left to experts. They have the experience, tools and skill to distinguish the genuine article from the fake. But, as with anything related to stamps, there’s nothing preventing you from becoming an expert, too!

Related posts:

1. Stamp Collecting: How To Display Stamps: Mounts and Hinges
2. Stamp Collecting: Soaking For Beginners
3. Collecting Stamps: Watermarks