Stamp Champions: Famous Costly Stamps - Part I

Just like Hollywood and the movies, the stamp world has its set of superstars. These are stamps that are super rare, those that have interesting stories associated with them, and those that bring the highest price when auctioned off. Below we list some of the most famous of the famous.

The 1840 One Penny Black – This is the real first stamp ever issued. Although they are not super rare, they hold a place in history and so they command a high price. Fifteen years ago one sold for $2.4 million dollars.


The 1847 Post Office Mauritius – This is a rare stamp from a British Colony on the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Because it is flawed as well, it is very valuable. The flaw is that, Instead of putting the words "post paid" on the stamp, the person who designed it used the word "post office". Only 200 of these stamps were printed and only a few dozen are known to exist. A cover that had two of these stamps on it sold for $3.8 million dollars about 10 years ago.


1851 Hawaiian Missionaries – Missionaries on the Island of Hawaii used stamps to pay postage. The most valuable are 2-cent stamps and only 16 are known to be in existence. If you have one, you could probably sell it for $200,000 to $800,000. The 5-cent and 13-cent stamps from the same time period can fetch a good amount as well.