A postage stamp is a printed piece of paper attached to an envelop, indicating that the mail has been pre-paid. Interestingly, these rectangular pieces of paper are printed with loads of information about the culture, people, history and everything that makes the country where they come from peculiar and unique.  For that reason, many people are attracted to collecting stamps known as philately. It’s a very expensive hobby and that hobbyists include the very wealthy and even former presidents of the United States of America.  The rarer a stamp is, the more important it is to them, increasing the price of the world’s rarest postage stamps to an incredible amount we can hardly imagine. Listed below are the world’s most notable and expensive stamps in world postal history.

Inverted Jenny

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Inverted Jenny is a United States postage stamp known for its accidental printing. Originally designed to carry the image of the Curtis JN airplane for just a casual U.S. stamp, but as fate would have for this adhesive piece of paper, the airplane was accidentally printed inverted. This error became the most celebrated in postage history. Its surviving and rare specimens sold for several thousand dollars and just recently, in 2005, a block of four (4) pieces were sold for $ 2.7 million.

Treskilling Yellow

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Treskilling Yellow is a postage stamp of Sweden that holds the world’s record auctions sales price for a postage stamp. 3-skilling value was normally printed in blue-green, while the 8-skilling was printed in yellow. For unsure reasons, yellow stamps were mistakenly printed with a machine used for 3-skilling stamps, thus the accidental released of stamps printed in the wrong color. It remained undiscovered for a time. The wronged stamp eventually became rare and precious to stamp collectors. One specimen after changing hands several times, in 1996, it sold for 2,500,000 Swiss francs.

Basel Dove

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The Basel Dove is one of the most notable stamps sought after by enthusiastic philatelists around the world. It was issued by Switzerland on July 1, 1845, featuring an embossed dove that carries a letter in its beak and was inscribed “STADT POST BASEL”. The stamp is printed in black, crimson, and blue, making it the first tri-colored stamps in the world. It was invalidated for use after September 30 of 1854.

Penny Black

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The Penny Black is notable for being the first world’s first adhesive postage stamp. It was issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on May 1, 1840.  The stamp was a little controversial for not all of England received official issues; however, other cities have begun offering the stamp unofficially after May 2.

British Guiana

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The British Guiana is known in the world of philately as the most famous stamp in world postal history. British Guiana, now Guyana, issued this stamp in very limited numbers in 1856, resulting to the rarity thereafter. Only one specimen is known to exist today.

 Mauritius Stamps

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The Mauritius Post Office stamps designed bearing the head of Queen Victoria of England are among the rarest stamps in the world. Although patterned after the common designs in England by their English engraver – Joseph Osmond Barnard – they nevertheless bear distinct primitive character. The words “Post Office” appear in the left panel, but were later replaced with the words “Post Paid’, giving rise to speculations that the words “Post Office” had been an error.  Because of their rarity and primitive character as local product of Mauritius, they have become famous and sought after.

Due to the advent of modern communication technology, postal communication is slowly disappearing away from mankind. It is sad and nostalgic to reflect on that fact, but one thing for sure, is that, these postage stamps whose present value surpasses that of precious gem will forever stay in our memory and in our history as long as mankind endures.