Philatelists do not just collect stamps as such, but within the framework of the chosen direction, they study the totality of postage marks, study the history and development of mail.

Enthusiastic people from early childhood seek and collect stamps, ranging from the most common to rare and expensive. Sometimes, for one copy, philatelists can give a fortune. This hobby can be a good investment.

A postage stamp is a special sign issued by the postal authorities to facilitate the collection of letters for forwarding: the stamp means the fact of payment for the service. When collectors began to buy up these small pieces of paper with ribbed edges, the stamps even began to be issued in separate series. For example, in honor of the holidays or historical events and famous people.

Many stamps appear in limited editions. We present to your attention the most expensive postage stamps in the world. Many of them are equivalent to buying an apartment or a car, some can only be found in private collections. The price of a stamp is determined by its condition: if it has already been used (it has a postmark on it) or has been damaged for other reasons, its value is reduced by several times. Whole and clean stamps are valued more than others.

Mauritius

One of the most expensive brands is Mauritius. It was printed on the island of Mauritius back in 1847. But a mistake was made during printing, so the stamp became very rare.

Experts made a mistake in the inscription. They printed Post Office instead of Post Paid. Only 28 such marriages are known. Today, for such a stamp at auction, you can get about 20 million US dollars.

holy grail

This rare stamp features an image of an American politician, diplomat and inventor Benjamin Franklin. There are only two such stamps in the world: one is kept in the New York Public Library, the other is in the private collection of an unnamed person. According to modest estimates of experts, the price of one mail copy can reach up to 30 million dollars.

Yellow swedish stamp

The yellow Swedish stamp, printed in 1855, is one of the most valuable in the world. The stamp was supposed to be green, but by mistake the series was painted in yellow and released into circulation.

In 1996, the Swedish yellow stamp or "Yellow crackkilling" was purchased for $2.3 million.

Jenny

There is a block of four stamps. They depict the Curtis-Jenny airplane. But the value of a brand is in its misprint. In the party, the airplane turned out to be upside down, so such copies are valued higher than the originals.

In 1954, all stamps were purchased for 18.2 thousand dollars. In 2017, their price is $3 million.

Tiflis stamp

Original and expensive brands have been found since Russian Empire. For example, the Tiflis stamp. It was printed in 1857.

About philately

To date, only three copies have survived - they all belonged to the jeweler and philatelist Faberge. Now they are in private collections and it is not so easy to even look at them.

Hawaiian missionaries

This is the first stamp that was released in Hawaii. They appeared in 1851 and were called "Hawaiian Missionaries". Their peculiarity is that they are poorly printed.

Due to poor and too thin paper, today they are considered the most expensive postage stamps in the world. Only 16 copies have survived to this day. Each costs a fortune - about half a million dollars.

Benjamin Franklin Z Grill

The rarest postage stamp in the United States. There are only two of them in the world. In 1988, a Benjamin Franklin Z Grill worth just one cent was sold in the US for a record $1.5 million.

Penny Black

Penny Black or "Penny Black" - the first official postage stamp, on reverse side which the adhesive has been applied. She was released in 1840.

She made a real revolution in the world of postage stamps. The stamp is not considered rare, but its cost is 2 million dollars.

British Guyana One Cent Black on Magenta

The world saw this stamp in 1856. It is printed on magenta low-quality paper in black ink.

Audrey Hepburn

You can get good money for postage stamps of our time. For example, the most expensive modern stamp is a German postal charity stamp depicting actress Audrey Hepburn with a cigarette in her mouth and wearing a wide-brimmed hat. It appeared in 2001, but was not officially released into the mail circulation.

This stamp was supposed to be included in a series that was dedicated to actors: Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Jean Gabin, Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman. Initially, 14 million Audrey Hepburn stamps were printed. However, the print run was canceled as the actress's son took over the publishing rights. He had to dislike the fact that his mother was with a cigarette. The circulation was destroyed, except for 30 copies. They went to museums and archives, and their cost is about 94 thousand dollars.

Louis Armstrong

A stamp by legendary trumpeter and composer Louis Armstrong was published in 1995 in the Legends of American Music: Jazz Musicians series. The musician was also a pioneer of jazz singing in the scat style - voice improvisation as musical instrument. In addition to Armstrong, the series included vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.

Philatelists also replenish their collections with Soviet stamps, the most expensive of which we will tell you in the material below.

The Blue Gymnast was released for the 40th anniversary of the Soviet circus. But it did not go into circulation due to disagreements about which year should be considered the year of the foundation of the circus: 1920, 1921 or 1934.

Many years later, they decided to designate the date 1919, so the stamp was released only for the 60th anniversary of the circus in 1979. After that, she got to the philatelists. At an auction in 2008, she went under the hammer for 13 million 800 thousand dollars.

Limonka

Almost the most expensive brand of the USSR. Lemonka was released in 1925, becoming the first of the definitive "Gold Standard" issue. Only 100 copies are known. When printing the stamp, the perforating machine broke down, but the rest of the denominations had already been produced.

The cost of stamps of the USSR of 1961-1991 is rather doubtful: the reason is that if the collection is assembled from ordinary copies, then it will not be possible to sell it at a high price. The cost of all stamps of that time will be no more than 30,000 rubles. But if there is no need to sell the album now, then you can postpone the deal and sell the collection in a few years for a more impressive amount.

Catalog of postage stamps of the USSR 1961-1991

A bit of history

In the USSR, philately was considered one of the most popular hobbies. At the same time, age did not matter: the collector could go to school, to a factory, or even retire.

The availability of brands and their variety was amazing. But the subject until a certain time was quite primitive. They placed the image of workers and peasants, the first cosmonauts and other prominent personalities. But among philatelists, such copies are not considered valuable; according to the concepts of collectors, only those that were released in a limited edition or have printing errors have value.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find such a brand today, since it has probably already graced someone's collection. But sometimes at auctions there are rare specimens, the cost of which will please the seller.

Stamps in the USSR began to be printed in 1924, the first exhibits did not have teeth, their edges were even. They were printed on paper. Bad quality. The cost of such brands is quite high, especially if they have characteristic features.

Individual stamps of the 70s-90s can cost a fortune, but among all the stamps of this time it is still worth looking for a worthy copy. And there are not so many of them.

There are copies that are sold in a block, and the price for one of five brands will range from 20,000 rubles and more. There are instances, the cost of which is much more expensive. The price also depends on the condition of the paper and appearance stamps. If the paper is shabby, and the image on it is partially erased, it is unlikely that it will be possible to sell it expensively.

It is pleasant to include the fact that the cost of stamps from the times of the USSR is constantly increasing. What 10 years ago cost one thousand rubles, today you can sell for 200-300 dollars.

Stamp "Flight of Peace and Friendship"

According to experts, the value of stamps from the times of the USSR will grow steadily, for this reason, if there is no urgent need to sell the collection, it is worth waiting 10-15 years. The reason for the rise in prices is simple: stamps from the times of the USSR are gradually disappearing, their condition is deteriorating, and what used to cost mere pennies can now be valued very dearly.

But do not delude yourself: if the collection is not fully assembled, then its cost will be “incomplete”. Collectors are engaged in collecting and their main goal is to collect a complete collection.

Stamps 1961–1991

It’s worth starting with those copies that philatelists envy. Collectors hunt for these stamps, considering them a real gift. Indeed, stamps are valuable and considered rare.

Most Valuable Stamps 1961–1991:

1. "Flight of Peace and Friendship", 1964.
2. "Transcarpathian Ukraine", 1965.

“The Flight of Peace and Friendship” was never put into circulation, or rather, the stamp was sold for only a few hours. The remaining copies were confiscated and destroyed. It was all about politics. During this period, Khrushchev planned a visit that never took place. For this reason, the stamp was withdrawn from sale, but collectors managed to take possession of several copies. In 2008, one of these copies was sold at auction for $29,000.

"Transcarpathian Ukraine" has a special history, the stamp dates back to 1965. It never went into circulation, the theme of the brand is quite simple: a girl in a national costume is holding hands by a guy also in a national costume. The release of the brand was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the annexation of Transcarpathian Ukraine to Soviet Ukraine. But the stamps were confiscated and destroyed, only a few pieces got to collectors. In 2008, "Transcarpathian Ukraine" was put up for auction and sold for 30 thousand dollars.

There are several more brands, the cost of which is quite high, but it does not exceed 20 thousand rubles.

These include:

1. "To the Stars", 1961 series.
2. "Star Block", released in 1964.
3. "Fil Exhibition", 1970 series.
4. "25 years of station SP-1", series 1992.

50 years of the Komsomol. Film exhibition. 1968

These stamps are sold in series, that is, one copy will not cost anything, but a complete collection will bring some dividends.

"To the Stars" is a series of stamps that has been produced for a long time, it was dedicated to space exploration. After the series was continued and supplemented with the image of Yuri Gagarin. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the series continued, but new stamps appeared in it only in 2001, and it is already difficult to attribute them to copies of the USSR period.

Star Block is a collection that includes postage stamps issued for various events. They printed not only images of space subjects, but also images of astronauts. Some collectors also include aviation stamps here.

The Filvystavka stamps are dedicated to the philatelic exhibition that took place in 1970.

There is little information about those copies that were dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the SP-1 station. It is only known that on some stamps there are no years of issue. Therein lies the value.

Collectors do not recommend self-assessment of stamps, especially when it comes to those copies that were printed in 1922-1923. If there is a suspicion that the stamp in the collection may be expensive, it is better to entrust the assessment to experts.

The reason for the low cost of the 1961-1991 collections is that at that time many people were fond of philately, so there are a lot of stamps. But if there are other specimens in the collection that date back several years earlier, their value can increase significantly. Especially when it comes to rare brands. But do not be upset, philatelists are unpredictable, what is worth nothing today, tomorrow can be sold for a very decent amount, just worth the wait.

"ART-Salon" on Pokrovka buys vintage and collectible postage stamps at competitive prices. With us you can sell stamps expensively, safely and get money on the day of the transaction.

How to sell stamps of the USSR and other collections

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The first postage stamps appeared in 1840. After some time, they began to collect and collect. Many of them, which are in the collection of ordinary fans, are now quite expensive. Such specimens can be profitably sold at the ART-salon on Pokrovka.

Evaluation Criteria for Strange Stamps

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Postage stamps are evaluated by specialists based on the catalogs of Solovyov, Standard Collection, Mikhel and Scott.

What factors influence brand value?

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Year of issue, her age.

Theme - whether it is dedicated to any important historical event.

· Paper quality.

· Preservation - torn, wrinkled, dirty, stamps soaked from envelopes or glued into albums are not accepted for evaluation.

Place of release - city, country. Stamps with images of the countries of the former Socialist camp are not of interest to collectors, therefore they are very cheap.

· Cleanliness of the card, no stamp. Stamps with partial cancellation or a full stamp with the date are more valued.

departures and city. Cards with a rough stamp lose sharply in price.

· Exclusivity, rarity and uniqueness - depends on the time of issue and the number of copies.

· The shape of the perforation, determined using a tooth gauge.

Where to sell postage stamps

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You can profitably sell stamps at the ART-Salon on Pokrovka. Our experts will conduct a professional examination and name their market value.

Contact us any day, from 10 am to 11 pm. For customers who come with their own car, we provide parking space.

Use the service of a free call to an expert - we will come to you at any appointed place and time to evaluate the stamps, or use

Send us an email to email or phone number via Viber and WhatsApp, use the online assessment: describe your brand and attach a photo of it. We will answer you within 15-20 minutes.

If the declared price suits you, we are ready to make a deal and pay you the money on the same day.

What brands are we interested in

· Clean, not having a stamp on its surface, i.e. "not extinguished".

· Stamps issued in the USSR from the 1920s to the 1950s. Copies printed after the 60s are of little interest. They were produced in millions of copies, so their cost is low.

· Rare, exclusive, well-preserved.

Stamps with an interesting history.

· Defective lots, upside-down images or printing errors.

· With stamps "district" or "zemstvo post", which testify to their belonging to the 19th century.

Limited edition.

Unique and collectible.

Collections, albums, catalogues.

People are very fond of collecting, and a wide variety of things. And it can be not only expensive paintings or antiques, but also the most common postage stamps. However, avid philatelists simply cannot turn their tongues to call them "ordinary"!

The most expensive - what are they? And what is their collectible value? This is what will be discussed in this article.

Postage stamp - what is it?

As soon as serious postal services began to function in the world, their organizers immediately had a question: "How can one determine whether this or that postal service has been paid?" This is how the postage stamp appeared - a special sign with its own confirmation that a particular service postal service paid.

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper rectangular shape, which has a specific (toothed) edging. It usually contains information about the face value of the stamp itself, as well as the number of the postal service. On any stamp there is also a certain pattern with an inscription, thanks to which these products have become a subject of interest for collectors.

Types of postage stamps

There are several main types of postage stamps:

• official (established by the state sample);
• informal;
• private postage stamps.

In the past, stamp collecting was quite a fashionable and popular pastime. And even today, many philatelists collect postage stamps of this particular historical era. The most expensive stamps of the USSR - what are they? We will talk about this further.

Collecting postage stamps

There is a special term for this type of collecting: "philately" (the word "atelia" is translated from Greek as "fees, duty").

For the sake of justice, it should be noted that the so-called philatelists are not limited to collecting stamps alone. They also collect envelopes and a variety of postcards. Well, philately was "born" in England, in the middle of the 19th century.

Many of today's major philatelists began collecting their first stamps as early as early childhood. Gradually, their collection grew, in the end, expensive stamps of the USSR could well end up in the bins of such collectors.

Philately is not just a hobby

Philately is not a simple hobby, as it may seem to many. After all, this hobby carries a huge cognitive potential, stimulating curiosity, interest in the history of their native country among young people and the younger generation. Philately is a historical and semantic phenomenon that is still waiting for its researchers in the future. But today is dedicated to her whole line books and scientific papers.

In addition, a postage stamp is not just a piece of paper. It is also a real work of art, albeit small in size. Postage stamps are a kind of "business cards" of the state, on the creation of which more than a dozen talented artists worked.

Philately is not a cheap pleasure. bright volume proof - the most expensive stamps of the USSR, the prices of which are sometimes comparable to the price one-room apartment or a brand new car! Therefore, not everyone can afford to purchase individual copies of postage stamps.

Expensive stamps of the USSR: the price of stamps

November 7 is a significant date for all domestic philatelists. It was on this day, in 1918, that the first ever postage stamp of the USSR was issued. The artist Richard Zarins worked on it.

Postage stamps (expensive) of the USSR have a very different collection value. If some of them can be purchased for a thousand or two Russian rubles, then for individual copies you will have to pay several thousand US dollars! It all depends on the circulation of a particular postage stamp. Nevertheless, there are enough people who want to buy small "papers" for such huge money.

Expensive stamps of the USSR: TOP-5

Each state has its own valuable postage stamps, for which collectors hunt in the literal sense of the word. Below we present to your attention the most famous, rare and, of course, expensive stamps of the USSR.

1. "40 years - a stamp that never went into circulation. The reason is quite interesting: the creators of the postage stamp could not decide in which year the Soviet circus was founded. Only one copy of this stamp is known, which was sold at auction for 13.8 million rubles.
2. "Carton" is a block of four stamps dedicated to the first philatelic exhibition. There is also only one such block, which was recently sold for 776.25 thousand dollars.
3. "Consular fifty dollars" - a postage stamp issued back in 1922 in a small edition of 75 pieces. The price of one such brand is about 63 thousand dollars.
4. "Transcarpathian Ukraine" is another rare postage stamp of the USSR, only one copy of it is known. And it was he who was sold at auction for 29.9 thousand dollars.
5. "250 years - the rarest Soviet stamp in 1959, with the release of which is associated curious story. It is known that the release of the stamp was banned at the last moment due to the visit of Nikita Khrushchev to Sweden. No more than forty stamps got into circulation, each of which today costs about 15-20 thousand dollars.

Finally...

Perhaps every avid philatelist dreams of getting valuable and expensive stamps of the USSR for his collection. Even despite the fact that their cost can reach several thousand dollars. In addition, to find such instances, you can spend a lot of effort and personal time.

There are few collectibles that, at different stages and in different ages everyone, or almost everyone, was addicted. First of all, this concerns postage stamps (if anyone has forgotten, they are actually primarily postage stamps). But it is one thing to “collect” stamps, filling the space of modest albums and free time, and another thing is serious collecting. Usually, the period of serious hobbies begins already in adulthood, whatever it may concern.

We are unlikely to discover America if we report that the independent sale of a rare stamp is a rather risky gamble, which will certainly not bring the desired result. First of all, the risk is associated with, since the assessment of "specialists" from the metro threatens both disappointment and loss of money. Best Solution- contact a company specializing in, as there are real professionals on the staff of such organizations who really love their job. There are many more details, such as "blank", "rough stamp", "full stamp", the size of the teeth on the edges (we are serious), but our specialist will be happy to explain all these details to you during the evaluation procedure. Given the general characteristics given, you can already roughly estimate how valuable your brand is. If you have a copy, released in 1888 on the island of Fiji in a single copy for the birthday of I.V. Stalin, please note that in addition to the usual assessment, the buyer will definitely require an examination, which will take a little longer.

Sell ​​an old stamp for the best price

If you don’t see much difference between a valuable and a simply beautiful stamp, and you don’t have the time and desire to listen to lectures by famous philatelists, then you just need a little information support that will help you to be more objective about the price of the stamp you are going to sell. The main criteria are:

• • • Dating. The year of issue is not indicated on the stamps, so the condition and quality of the paper, the image and the event to which the stamp is timed can help you. The older the brand, the more valuable it is, but there are exceptions to every rule. For example, old Chinese stamps are now highly valued, but the purchase of USSR stamps is no less popular with collectors.
    • Place of stamp issue. The more exotic the country, the higher the value of the brand. However, let's not forget that selling the USSR stamp can be much more expensive.
    • The uniqueness of a postage stamp. It all depends on the edition. The smaller it is, the higher the rarity and exclusivity of the brand, and hence its price. There is an opinion that Soviet stamps are not particularly valuable, as they were produced in millions of copies. Yes, such stamps are unlikely to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but buying up Soviet stamps is a fashionable philatelic trend, moreover, among the stamps of the USSR there are rare copies issued in a small circulation.

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