On 8th June, Heinrich Koehler sold a rare cover franked with an error stamp from the German State of Baden for €1,524,601.5 including buyer’s fee. No other philatelic material has been auctioned in Germany for higher value so far. The exquisite item belonged to a German-born businessman named Erivan Haub. The 9-kreuzer black stamp on this cover was issued in 1851, mistakenly on blue-green paper instead of the desired rose paper. The opening bid for the cover was set at €800,000.

The cover was mailed in 1851 from Ettenheim to Karlsruhe. Expert philatelists like Philipp la Renotiere von Ferrary, Alfred Caspary and John R. Boker Jr had once owned this cover. In the next five years, items from the Erivan collection will be sold via more than 30 auctions conducted by H.R. Harmer in New York, Corinphila Auctions in Zurich, and Heinrich Koehler.

Image Courtesy: Heinrich Koehler