One of the rarest and most sought after stamps ever produced is up for sale and expected to fetch over half a million pounds.
The plate 77 Penny Red has been dubbed the ‘Holy Grail of philately’ and is one of just nine examples of the stamp ever recorded.
Although millions of Penny Reds were printed between 1841 and 1879, a number of plates were never used due to technical faults.
Flaws in plate number 77 meant the stamp’s perforations were lined up incorrectly, so all of the test sheets were destroyed.
But at least one sheet was released into circulation by mistake - making the 77 every stamp collector’s dream.
Dealer Stanley Gibbons heralds it as the 'most valuable single stamp' the company has ever had for sale in their 156 year history, with a value of around £550,000.
Collectors worldwide religiously check every Penny Red they come across to see if it is a real example of the 'philatelic Holy Grail'.
Spokesman Vince Cordell said: 'This example has graced some of the finest stamp collections ever formed and is not only a magnificent exhibition piece but one of the great rarities of Great Britain and world philately.
'To date, four mint and five used examples have been reported, although some have not been seen for so long their authenticity is unconfirmed and often doubted.'
Of the mint examples, there is one in the Royal Philatelic collection, one in the Tapling collection in the British Library, one in the Raphael collection that was stolen in 1965 and has not been seen since, and the fourth was in the Ferrary collection sold in the 1920s.
The used examples include two found in the early 20th Century that were damaged and have not been seen for more than 50 years, one that was lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and one in the Adams collection - now in the British Library.
The fifth example is the one for sale by Guernsey company Stanley Gibbons, which it said was “realistically the only one that will ever be available on the open market”.
It is on a piece of envelope to the left of a common 4d red stamp and has a post mark bearing the number 15.
The plate 77 Penny Red is on sale through their website now, and is being stored at the company’s high security vault in London.
Quality Stamp Albums, including the Stanley Gibbons brand are available from Boscastle Supplies - www.boscastlesupplies
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2101520/Penny-Red-rare-imperfections-set-sell-550-000-auction.html#ixzz1mkkuiytC
The plate 77 Penny Red has been dubbed the ‘Holy Grail of philately’ and is one of just nine examples of the stamp ever recorded.
Although millions of Penny Reds were printed between 1841 and 1879, a number of plates were never used due to technical faults.
The extremely rare used penny red stamp (left) from 'plate 77' compared with a regular four penny red (right). The stamp is expected to fetch over half a million pounds
Flaws in plate number 77 meant the stamp’s perforations were lined up incorrectly, so all of the test sheets were destroyed.
But at least one sheet was released into circulation by mistake - making the 77 every stamp collector’s dream.
Dealer Stanley Gibbons heralds it as the 'most valuable single stamp' the company has ever had for sale in their 156 year history, with a value of around £550,000.
Collectors worldwide religiously check every Penny Red they come across to see if it is a real example of the 'philatelic Holy Grail'.
Spokesman Vince Cordell said: 'This example has graced some of the finest stamp collections ever formed and is not only a magnificent exhibition piece but one of the great rarities of Great Britain and world philately.
'To date, four mint and five used examples have been reported, although some have not been seen for so long their authenticity is unconfirmed and often doubted.'
Of the mint examples, there is one in the Royal Philatelic collection, one in the Tapling collection in the British Library, one in the Raphael collection that was stolen in 1965 and has not been seen since, and the fourth was in the Ferrary collection sold in the 1920s.
WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE STAMPS
In 2010, the Treskilling Yellow made the record for the most expensive stamp ever sold. It was thought the Swedish rectangular treasure went for £1.6million, though it has never been confirmed.
The world's most valuable object by weight, the first owner is said to have been a Swedish schoolboy, who found it in 1885 among a pile of letters left by his grandparents.
The Treskilling Yellow is 'one of about a half dozen highly notorious stamps in the world,' according to noted U.S. stamp expert Robert Odenweller.
Others include the 1856 British Guiana 1 cent Magenta which has been locked away in a vault since 1980 when it was bought for nearly one million US dollars by chemicals fortune heir John du Pont.
Another is the 2 Penny Post Office Mauritius Blue that sold for £970,000 in 1993.
The world's most valuable object by weight, the first owner is said to have been a Swedish schoolboy, who found it in 1885 among a pile of letters left by his grandparents.
The Treskilling Yellow is 'one of about a half dozen highly notorious stamps in the world,' according to noted U.S. stamp expert Robert Odenweller.
Others include the 1856 British Guiana 1 cent Magenta which has been locked away in a vault since 1980 when it was bought for nearly one million US dollars by chemicals fortune heir John du Pont.
Another is the 2 Penny Post Office Mauritius Blue that sold for £970,000 in 1993.
The used examples include two found in the early 20th Century that were damaged and have not been seen for more than 50 years, one that was lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and one in the Adams collection - now in the British Library.
The fifth example is the one for sale by Guernsey company Stanley Gibbons, which it said was “realistically the only one that will ever be available on the open market”.
It is on a piece of envelope to the left of a common 4d red stamp and has a post mark bearing the number 15.
The plate 77 Penny Red is on sale through their website now, and is being stored at the company’s high security vault in London.
Quality Stamp Albums, including the Stanley Gibbons brand are available from Boscastle Supplies - www.boscastlesupplies
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2101520/Penny-Red-rare-imperfections-set-sell-550-000-auction.html#ixzz1mkkuiytC
However, in Kannamangala Government Higher Primary School of Shidlaghatta taluk various activities are undertaken to encourage children. Recently and exhibition of stamps, coins and thematic pictures was held to kindle the imagination of the students.