Unlike other stamps on this list, there are 100 Inverted Jennys in circulation, but the wider availability makes the stamps even more sought after. Perhaps the most famous rare US Stamp, the Inverted Jenny, with its small print run and fanciful error, has been a golden goose for philatelists for over a century. Both philatelists and the court found the claim to be unfounded, but there are some holding on to hope that there’s a Treskilling Yellow stamp fortune hidden somewhere in the world.īaden 9 Kreuzer Error Stamp, 1851 (photo via Wikimedia Commons) The Inverted Jenny, 1918 The vault was allegedly broken into and the stamps were stolen, leading the powerful couple to file a lawsuit against the bank. In 2010, Baron Jean-Claude Pierre Ferdinand Gunther Andre and his wife claimed to have stored nine separate Treskilling Yellow stamps in a trunk inside a Clydesdale Bank vault in London. Only one Treskilling Yellow is known to have survived, though these stamps were printed in sheets of one hundred, leaving many to speculate that there are more waiting to be found. The three-skilling stamp was usually printed in a blue green, but an unknown printing error led to a batch of yellow stamps briefly being circulated in the 1850s. The 1855 Treskilling Yellow is a color error of one of the very first stamps issued in Sweden. The 1856 British Guiana 1c Magenta Stamp (Photo via Wikimedia Commons) Treskilling Yellow, 1855

The final price of $9.48M made it the most expensive single stamp sale in the world-the fourth time the British Guiana 1c Magenta has broken that record. It has since traded hands across the world many times, with shoe designer and collector Stuart Weitzman currently possessing it. The sole surviving copy was first discovered by a young boy in 1873 who sold what would become known as the rarest stamp in the world for six shillings! The stamp quickly rose in value as collectors realized the rarity of the little octagon the boy had stumbled upon. Only one copy of this emergency print run is known to exist. The printers of this emergency run added a small boat to the stamp, which can be seen faintly on the face of the stamp underneath the signature of postal clerk E.D Wright, distinguishing it from the official stamp run. When an expected shipment of the stamps went missing, an emergency run was produced as a stop-gap measure. In 1856, The British Guiana (now the independent nation of Guyana) post office issued the initial run of 1c magenta stamps for use in newspaper circulation. The British Guiana 1c Magenta is the most valuable rare stamp in the world. In the below list of some of the most valuable stamps in the world, you’ll see many colorful errors that bring whimsy and humor to the field of philately. Errors are usually quickly caught and removed from circulation, increasing rarity and value of the affected stamp. Typically, a stamp error arises from a mixup in the printing plates during pressing. The most valuable stamps in the world often feature some kind of blunder or misprint within one of these main components, known as an error. For example the 2c George Washington features the image of George Washington with the denomination of 2 US cents. The name of a stamp is usually derived from these elements.

The country of origin-usually featured on the face.The perforations along the edge where it was attached to its sheet.Typically, the value of a stamp is determined by four distinct elements: Many rare stamps are truly one of a kind, but collectors often hold out hope that there are additional copies hidden away in an attic somewhere, just waiting to be found. That said, their transitory nature means most stamps are thrown away without the recipient having given them a second thought. Ever since nations began to regulate and standardize the post, there have been people collecting these little paper squares, and the price of rare vintage stamps continues to rise over time. Stamp collecting, also known as philately, is a hobby as old as stamps themselves.

Red airmail 5 cent stamp