2019-05-30 Thu

A rare 9-kreuzer black error stamp of Germany-Baden, printed on blue-green paper instead of rose paper, was recently discovered by a US collector. Only four such error stamps were known to exist before this discovery. The stamp has a listed market value of $1.3 million. The collector’s grandmother had travelled worldwide with her sisters after World War I and had picked up interesting artefacts from different countries. This rare error stamp could be one of the artefacts that she collected during her tour.

The collector and his mother have been building a collection of world stamps for several years. His grandmother must have probably passed on the rare stamp which remained undiscovered for a very long time. The collector’s mother expired almost 15 years ago and he started filling vacant spaces in the album alphabetically. When he reached “G” for Germany, he found the Baden error postmarked stamp on the album page in a stamp mount. He later found out that a lot of forged examples of this rare stamp are available in the market. After consulting several experts he finally arrived at the conclusion that the stamp is genuine.

Experts note that the blue-green paper has changed to yellowish green just like an unused example of the same stamp. Spots of the original blue-green paper can be seen on the reverse side of both examples. The minute designs and a secret engraver’s mark also matched. Experts also claim that the reverse of the latest find has two thins on the reverse and a small wedge of paper is separating on the upper right corner. The error stamp was cancelled with a four-ring “25” postmark from the post office of Constantz.

One example of this stamp has good margins and is affixed on a piece. The second one is on a complete folded letter addressed to Karlsruhe, which will be auctioned by the Global Philatelic Network on 1st June at the Stockholmia 2019 stamp show and exhibition. The third example is on another complete folded letter, which is now showcased at the Berlin museum. The fourth one was an unused example that was sold by David Feldman Galleries in 2008. The latest discovery will be offered at the Stockholmia 2019 stamp show and exhibition from 29th May to 3rd June. It will be auctioned as a private treaty sale by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions of Danbury, Conn.

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Image Courtesy: Stockholmia 2019 stamp show and exhibition