What Is The Rarest Stamp That You Have Ever Found?

What is the rarest stamp that you have ever found?

I don't find it, I buy it

Given that Scott doesn't generally provide information as to the total number of stamps issued and we have no idea how many have survived, I really have no idea how "rare" any of the stamps in my collection are. Using catalog values as a proxy, I've "found" stamps with a CV of over $100 in unsorted mixtures before. CV is a very imperfect measure of rarity, however, since in-demand stamps that aren't all that rare (or scarce, if you prefer) can be expensive simply due to high demand, and stamps that are actually rare can be cheap because of low demand.

Since 1957, I've only bought direct from the post office, so any valuable stamps in my collection are from good luck only.

As a 'flyspecter', anything that is not the norm for the particular issue is 'valuable' to me.

Here's one of five miscut booklets that I purchased from a local post office. The other four were auctioned off. The horizontal cut is correct, and the miscut verticals are indicated by the green arrows.

Value, around $200.00



This one has a misalignment of the horizontal lines creating a "beard" on the polar bear. A one-off, and not valued.

jogil - you are asking a good question. The 'hunt' for not-discovered treasures is in my mind the best part of this hobby.

I have discovered several varieties in large lots through the years. The last finding that comes to my mind was when I worked through 4 liters (!) of Austrian unsorted mess last autumn, thousands of stamps. Found scott 224a and 225a, both perf varietites at a 2-300$ amidst what was discarded by previous owner as leftovers. Happy with that.

I found this stamp in my parent's attic when I was about 8, and promptly soaked it of its cover and slapped it into some Crystal mount(Tm) before sticking it into my 1962 edition of The Jefferson U.S. Stamp Album.

I ruminated over its "pinkness" and maybe even its "pigeon bloodiness" forever, and then finally got it expertised by Bill Weiss a couple of years ago. Not in great shape, but at least a genuine SC#64!




Al

Here is the rarest item I have found. It is a plate block of the 10pr value of Israel 3rd coin issue of 1950. The stamp itself is common. The uncommon part is the plate block has perforations extending in both directions in the selvage. Most plate blocks are imperf in either the horizontal or vertical direction. I believe fewer than 100 exist with this perforation. Admittedly, the market for this rarity is limited, but I thought it was a great find. The seller had no idea of its rarity, as it was included in a lot I picked up for less than $10 on E-bay.

Probably the outright rarest stamp I have is a Kellogg's local post from Cleveland; there are about half a dozen known covers and maybe half a dozen loose stamps. But I didn't "find" that; I bought it at auction and everyone knew what it was.

Easier to be a postal historian and to be involved in markings - "only reported" examples of markings come up all the time. Perhaps my favorite there was discovering a new variety of a seapost flag cancel - flags are well-researched so totally new unreported markings are few and far between. [that was profitable as well - the 3/$1 postcard turned into a four-figure item].

Not a stamp, but a cover I bought for $1. It was a very very rare solo Prexie international use and sold for insane money on ebay a few years back

"Not a stamp, but a cover"... I can remember another cover of yours which is one of only 11 known to exist. Your pre-stamp 1827 Cunard cover (Bermuda to Annapolis) must rate as rare.

I picked this at an online auction [not ebay] last year. The precancel [PSS 623] has never been seen before from this town, so unique:

Not a stamp, but a cancel. I had this in my collection for a number of years before I found out how significant it was. The stamp is Spain #1, and the red 0 cancel is from Torrelavega. At the time I got it certified there were only like 4 known examples. I have since sold it.

Long before beer stamps were listed in the Scott Specialized, I found the discovery example of REA199; there are still only 2 known. I also found the discovery example of REA45e some years back. I own neither, alas.

I bought this stamp for $2 at a stamp show about 15 years ago. A couple of years later I sent it out to an expert who identified it as a #10A (23L1e) on part India paper (very scarce). It is also a rare (unlisted) yellowish orange brown color variety.

A few years ago I bought a large collection of QV India used in Zanzibar postmarks (the Woolley collection) at Harmer's auction house in London (now sadly defunct) and four of these subsequently made it into the current edition of SG's East Africa volume as being previously unknown useage, valued at over £200 each. In addition there were another couple of the QV India 1882-1888 issue with inverted watermark previously not known to have been used in Zanzibar, but these never made it into the catalogue.

I also have a few used South African Republic "Vurtheim" definitives with unrecorded P13-1/2 varieties, and I may get round to having these looked at some time.

There's nothing to excite my bank manager too much, but it's kind of nice to be able to put something back into a catalogue which I take so much from. and think "hey, that's me!"

ArtfulHinger wrote:



To me, this brings up the distinction between "rare" and "scarce." "Rare" tends to be used for things that are prized, or desired, while "scarce" goes more to the objective quality of numerical quantity. Obviously, the two words are often used interchangeably, but also are often used with such distinctions in nuance. But we can talk about something being "rare" whether we know or not how "scarce" it is.

I collect U.S. airmail stamps and U.S. aviation themed stamps. None of these are particularly rare or scarce, at least in singles (and ignoring exceptions like C3a!). I have a lot of FDC's, some of which are quite scarce, but not "rare" in the sense under discussion here. But I do have a few that would qualify as both scarce and relatively rare. I have an FDC of C16 serviced by Albert Gorham with a plate block. It is the only one I've ever seen, though it could be one of four, and sold at auction for $488.00. That's probably as close to scarce and rare as I've ever gotten. And yet I have stamps worth that much or more, like the Zepps, which would be considered neither scarce nor rare. Rarer (that the Zepps), yet probably worth only about $100, are FDC covers in my collection of C72c, which may be one of the rarest of modern FDC's.

Of course none of this is in the league the big boys play in.

Basil