The Famous Stamps Encyclopedia
Discover the legends of philately. Full histories, auction records, and identification guides.
Welcome to the internet's most comprehensive database of iconic postage stamps. We curate the stories behind the world's most valuable philatelic treasures—from printing errors that created million-dollar artifacts to the early days of global mail. Scroll through our timeline of philatelic history to explore the stamps that defined a hobby.
Penny Black
The world's first adhesive postage stamp, issued in Great Britain on May 6, 1840. Features a profile of 21-year-old Queen Victoria engraved by Charles and Frederick Heath.
Auction Record
$345,100
Known Copies
Approximately 68 million printed; tens of thousands survive
Basel Dove (Basler Taube)
One of the world's most beautiful stamps and an engineering marvel of its era. Issued by the Swiss Canton of Basel in 1845, the Basel Dove was the first stamp to use multicolor (three-color) printing.
Auction Record
$97,750
Known Copies
Approximately 35,000–40,000 printed; several thousand survive
Alexandria 'Blue Boy' Provisional
A romantic icon of early American philately. It is the only known copy of the Alexandria Postmaster Provisional printed on blue paper.
Auction Record
$1,180,000
Known Copies
Only 1 copy on blue paper exists
Blue Mauritius (Post Office Mauritius)
Among the world's most famous stamps, the 'Post Office Mauritius' stamps of 1847 are legendary for bearing the error inscription 'Post Office' instead of 'Post Paid'. Only 27 examples of each value are known.
Auction Record
$3,850,000
Known Copies
27 known of the 1d blue; 27 known of the 2d orange-red
Perot Provisional
Bermuda's first stamp, hastily hand-stamped by Postmaster William B. Perot in 1848 to solve the problem of missing pennies in his drop-box.
Auction Record
$210,000
Known Copies
11 in total (First Issue)
Hawaiian Missionaries
Some of the rarest and most sought-after stamps in the world, issued by the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1851 for use by missionaries. The 2¢ value is particularly rare, with fewer than 20 known examples.
Auction Record
$2,000,000
Known Copies
Fewer than 20 examples of the 2¢ blue known; 15 of the 5¢; about 26 of the 13¢
Baden 9 Kreuzer Error
Germany's most famous stamping mistake. In 1851, a 9-Kreuzer denomination was accidentally printed on blue-green paper intended for the 6-Kreuzer stamp.
Auction Record
$1,730,000
Known Copies
Only 5 known (1 unused, 4 used on cover/piece)
12-Penny Black
The holy grail of Canadian postage. This beautiful 1851 stamp was so unpopular for its awkward denomination that the government destroyed over 97% of the entire stock.
Auction Record
$420,000
Known Copies
Around 100 to 145 copies survive
Cape of Good Hope Triangular Stamps
The world's first and most famous triangular stamps, issued by the Cape of Good Hope in 1853. The triangular shape was designed to help illiterate postal workers distinguish prepaid letters without reading them.
Auction Record
$225,000
Known Copies
Millions printed; some rare printings extremely scarce
Inverted Head 4 Annas
One of the world's earliest and most famous multi-colored printing errors. The blue portrait of Queen Victoria was printed completely upside down relative to the red frame.
Auction Record
$170,000
Known Copies
Fewer than 30 known copies
Treskilling Yellow (Tre Skilling Banco)
A Swedish stamp error so rare it has only one known example. The 3-skilling banco stamp was accidentally printed in yellow instead of its correct blue-green color in 1855, making it one of the world's most valuable stamps.
Auction Record
$2,300,000
Known Copies
1 — the only known surviving example
British Guiana 1c Magenta
The world's rarest and most valuable stamp. Known as the 'Mona Lisa of stamps', this octagonal 1856 magenta stamp is the only known surviving example of its kind, valued at $9.48 million.
Auction Record
$9,480,000
Known Copies
1 — the only known surviving example in the world
Penny Red (Plate 77)
One of British philately's greatest rarities. While billions of Penny Reds were printed, a defect in printing Plate 77 led to its destruction—but a few sheets miraculously survived.
Auction Record
$645,000
Known Copies
Only 9 copies of Plate 77 known to exist
Benjamin Franklin Z Grill
The rarest and most valuable US postage stamp. Features a unique horizontal security grill pattern to prevent re-use, with only one copy in private hands.
Auction Record
$4,366,000
Known Copies
Only 2 copies of the 1¢ known to exist
Red Revenue Small One Dollar
The crown jewel of classic Chinese philately. A red tax stamp provisionally overprinted with a $1 postage value using characters that were deemed 'too small'.
Auction Record
$890,000
Known Copies
Only 32 copies known to exist
Edward VII 2d Tyrian Plum
A mass-produced British stamp numbering 24 million copies that was wholly destroyed when King Edward VII died just days before its scheduled release.
Auction Record
Approx £102,000
Known Copies
12 copies (1 used, 11 mint)
Inverted Jenny
America's most famous stamp error — a 1918 US airmail stamp on which the biplane was accidentally printed upside down. Only 100 examples exist, making each worth over $1 million.
Auction Record
$2,000,000
Known Copies
100 stamps (one sheet of 100 discovered in 1918)
Gronchi Rosa
Italy's most famous modern rarity. A pink stamp honoring the President's trip to South America that was quickly recalled because it featured incorrect borders for Peru.
Auction Record
Approx €3,000 (often much higher on flown covers)
Known Copies
Approx 79,000 sold before recall
The Whole Country is Red
A highly valuable Chinese Cultural Revolution stamp withdrawn within hours because Taiwan was accidentally left unshaded on the map of China.
Auction Record
$2,000,000 (Large format)
Known Copies
Very small quantity of small format; ~9 of the large format
CIA Invert
A famous modern US error where a batch of $1 candle stand stamps was purchased by CIA employees who noticed the flame was printed upside down.
Auction Record
$17,000
Known Copies
Approximately 95 copies
More legends are being added to the archive
Our experts are currently researching:
Penny Red, Twopenny Blue, Alexandria Blue Boy, and the Dag Hammarskjöld Invert.
Check back frequently as we expand our encyclopedia.
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