Rare postage stamps

Top rarest & most valuable stamps in the world & their respective values

One Penny Black - the first stamp in the world

What better way to start than by paying homage to the first stamp in the world, the one penny Black Stamp First issued in 1840 by the British, the One Penny Black features the bust of England’s Queen Victoria.

Early printing of these old postage stamps were attached and had to be cut with scissors. Today, unused Penny Black stamps are very rare to find. You are in luck if you find one as stamp collectors aspire to have this vintage stamp in their rare stamp collection.

The current market value of an unused One Penny Black stamp is around $3, 000 US Dollars.

List of the top rarest stamps:

Some but not all of the old rare stamps are commonly error stamps. These are the famous and very rare stamps of the world today. 

1.) The Two Penny Blue Stamps (1840)

These postage stamps lacked the country's name. One of the earliest stamps made in Britain.

These rare British stamps, also know as the Blue Penny postal stamps, were sold for nearly $4 million in 1993.

2.) The 'Mauritius Post Office Error' Stamps (1847)

These stamps had the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid."

Another error postage stamp, these rare stamps were originally issued in one penny and two penny definitive Stamps.

The mistake on the Mauritius error stamps was accidentally printed by a jittery designer when the governor’s wife rushed him to make these postage stamps to be used on the inaugural ball invitations.

3.) Hawaii Missionary Stamps (1851)

These are on the top ranks of the most expensive stamps in the world.

A mint rare stamp or an unused set or of eight of the Hawaiian Missionary stamps has a rare stamp price costing up to $100,000.

The rare Missionary stamps were the first and oldest stamps in Hawaii.

They were used by the American missionaries who came to the islands in the 19th century.

4.) British Guiana 1-cent Magenta Stamp (1856)

Alleged to be the world's rarest and most valuable stamps, these stamps were sold at an auction in 1970 for $280,000.

At present, this rare stamp value is estimated over a million dollars. There is only one specimen left for this most expensive ever.

Several counterfeit stamps of the British Guyana stamps resurfaced through the years.

5.) The New Brunswick stamp "Connell's Folly” stamps (1859)

Postmaster General Charles Connell used his own portrait on the 5 cent stamp, the value most commonly used in the Canadian colony.

However, the public denounced Connell for his subtle political propaganda.

This folly made this rare Canadian stamp controversial.

6.) The Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador "Seebeck Reprints" stamps (1889-1899)

Nicholas F. Seebeck, a representative of the Hamilton Banknote Company in New York, contracted to print stamps for these nations at no charge, provided all unsold stamps were invalidated and returned to him.

He sold these rare collectible stamps and other postage stamps reprinted from the original plates to collectors at a fraction of their face value.

7.) The China "Special Delivery” Issue stamp (1913-1914)

It is the world's largest stamp, printed in strips with five different designs.

This exclusive collectible and rare Chinese Stamp  measures 247mm by 65mm.

8.) The U.S. "Inverted Airmail" postage stamp (1918)

Today, an Inverted Airmail has a rare postage stamp value at about $42,500. The face value of this highly valuable stamp is 24 cents.

This rare postal stamp is also known as the inverted Jenny stamp, as the design on the vignette is a Curtiss JN-4 airplane that was accidentally printed upside-down.

9.) The U.S. "Dag Hammarskjold Error” stamps (1962)

Two collectors, one in New Jersey and one in Ohio, each bought a sheet of this commemorative, which had the yellow background inverted.

On discovering the existence of the error, the Post Office Dept. reissued the stamp with the error and eliminated the premium value of the original sheets.

These rare postage stamps are also called the Day’s Follies after Postmaster Edward Day.

10.) The U.S. "Farley's Follies" stamps (1935)

Postmaster General James A. Farley favored selected friends and VIPs, especially President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by giving them ungummed and unperforated sheets of certain Commemorative Stamps.

After strong and continued protests from American rare stamp collectors, the government was forced to reissue the postage stamps in an ungummed and imperforated form, and make them available to the general public.