2018-05-05 Sat

The rarest stamp in Czech Philately was brought to auction after 90 years. It was realized at the record-breaking price of $448,600.

The rare stamp had been held in the postal museum in Prague for decades until it was sold in the 1990s to the prominent Czech collector and exhibitor Ludvik Pytlicek. So what makes this stamp so special?

The stamp was printed in the last days of the Habsburg Empire. After Czechoslovakia came into existence in 1918, the old imperial stamps were considered valid, as long as they had the imprimatur of the new republic.

The stamp is engraved in green ink and in German with the words "imperial and royal Austrian post: four crowns". Superimposed along on a diagonal on top of that, in black ink, and in Czech, are the words "Czechoslovak Post 1919".

The stamp is printed on Granite paper which makes it the unique Czechoslovak stamp in existence.

Image Curtsey: https://www.linns.com