12th November 2014
How do you value a stamp collection when it includes the only known example of a Great Britain missing colour error?
The owner of this stamp bought it in 1967 in a Post Office in Rochdale to add to his stamp collection, and it was only when he got home that he realised the orange colour used for the Queens head was missing. By the time he returned to the Post Office the rest of the sheet had been sold, though no other examples are known to have survived.
The owner’s initial disappointment that, without the Queens head the stamp was not valid for postal usage was more than compensated for when he realised that he owned one of the true rarities of modern British stamps.
The stamp is catalogued in SG as SG 755b but is unpriced as it has never been sold.
Collectors will be able to buy this stamp in our 3rd December auction. The estimate is £6,000 but for a unique item such as this, anything can happen.
Phil Stowe