Stamp collecting: which are the most valuable?

Rarest and most expensive stamp fetched
£7.1m four years ago

In Depth

The long-term price trends for rare stamps are expected to
increase – so how do you know if you’re sitting on a goldmine of
postage stamps?

What makes a stamp collection valuable?

According to the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS), stamps are
likely to have value if they were issued before 1960 and include
higher face values, generally above one shilling in British “old”
money. They should be in good condition, with no damage or portions
missing, and arranged neatly in albums without being stuck to the
page or showing faded colours.

Commemorative stamp collections, such as for a royal wedding,
birth or anniversary are actually less likely to hold value.

“British Penny Blacks are famous, but unfortunately are neither
fabulously valuable, nor rare,” says the PTS. A total of 68 million
were produced and sold, and are generally worth around £50 to £100
each. Unused Penny Blacks in top condition, however, have been
known to fetch around £2,500.

PTS adds that stamps with “genuine errors of production”, such
as missing colours, are often worth considerably more than “normal”
issues.

How can I sell my collection?

Stamps can be sold in an auction or directly to a dealer.
Philatelists could also sell their collection themselves on online
marketplaces such as eBay. Some auctioneers offer free valuations
and hold regional roadshows around the country.

What are the most valuable stamps in the world?

“The rarest and most valuable stamp in the world is the British
Guiana 1c Magenta,” says online auction platform Catawiki. Last sold in 2014 in New York for
$9.5m (£7.1m), it was created in limited numbers when a delivery of
stamps from London to British Guiana was delayed in 1856. “Both the
symbolic colony’s Latin motto and the fact that there is only one
known to exist makes this stamp a real rarity,” says the auction
site.

A Swedish stamp misprinted in 1855, called the Treskilling
Yellow, is believed to be the second most expensive postage stamp.
It was sold in 1996 for around $2.3m (£1.7m), a world record at the
time, and has been sold on twice since then in private deals.

In third place, are the first Mauritius stamps, issued in 1847
and believed to be the first British Commonwealth stamps produced
outside of Britain. Only 26 copies are known to still exist and
each holds a value of nearly £900,000.