2016-01-25 Mon

Large dragon essay stamp of 1878-1883 was auctioned for US$512,500 at Spink’s stamp sale on January 17. It was the highest grossing stamp sale ever held in Asia.

This se-tenant pair of stamps is the first official stamp of China. It depicts the dragon with night-shining pearl and a six-storied pagoda, to the left of which are six sets of characters for the various values of the issue.

Considering the six storeys of the Pagoda, initially, it was thought that the stamps were designed by an American artist who was not aware of Chinese culture. However, later on it is determined that the artist was Chinese and the missing storey was likely a mistake.

This unique postage stamp made US$512,500 and broke many world records.