Rarities -- Lee's Illustrated Stamp Listopedia

	British Guiana One Cent Magenta	Twelve-year old L. Vernon Vaughan discovered this rarity in1873 among letters in his family's attic. In 1980 it was auctioned to John Dupont for $935,000. Long reputed to be the rarest stamp in the world, a second copy, still to be authenticated, recently surfaced in Germany. (1856).
	Sweden Three Skilling Banco, Yellow Error of Color	Normally issued in green, one instance of a yellow variety of this stamp was found in 1885. It was printed with the ink color meant for the 8 skilling banco of the same set. In 1996 the stamp sold for $2.27 million at auction. (1855)
	Post Office Mauritius	The British colony of Mauritius produced only 500 examples of each of its first two stamps. Fewer than 30 survive today. In 1993 a cover bearing both the 1d and 2d stamps sold for $3.8 million, the highest price ever paid for a stamp collecting item. (1847)
	U.S. Franklin Z-Grill	The rarest of U.S. stamps, with only 2 known to exist, its "Z-grill" is a pattern of tiny squares pressed into the paper to allow the canceling ink to be absorbed, thus discouraging postage cheaters from washing it out. The use of grills was found to be impractical and was discontinued in the U.S. after 1871. (1867)
	Hawaiian Missionaries	The first four stamps issued by Hawaii are called the "Missionaries" because they were frequently used by island missionaries to send letters back to the United States. The lowest denomination, the two-cent, is the rarest of the set. (1851)
	France Tête-Bêches	Panes of several of France's early issues were released with at least one stamp upside down with respect to the others, or "tête-bêche." (1853-61)
	British Guiana Cottonreel	The first stamps issued by British Guiana are referred to as "cottonreels" because of their resemblance to the cirular labels glued to the ends of spools of cotton. (1850-51)
	U.S. Postmasters' Provisionals	Before U.S. government stamps appeared in 1847, local postmasters sometimes issued their own provisional stamps. Many are now very rare. Pictured is the "St. Louis Bears" provisional. (1845-46)
	Canada St. Lawrence Seaway, Inverted Center	An example of a modern rarity is this printing error of the Canada St. Lawrence Seaway commemorative. About 62 stamps with inverted centers were released. (1959)

See also
Australia's Most Valuable Stamp	Previously unknown 1932 issue is found in Tasmania.
China Philatelic Rarities	Rare stamps from China.
Error Stamps	Stamp production mistakes that may result in scarce varieties.
Fake or Forgery?	Has a second copy of the world's rarest stamp been found?
"Fake" say RPS Experts	Second 1¢ Magenta flunks expertizing exam.
Gallery of Rarities	Some high-priced sales by the Siegel Auction Galleries.
The Most Expensive Stamps	Overview of valuable German and worldwide stamps.
The World's Most Famous Stamp	Michael Mills’ history of the British Guiana 1¢ Magenta.
The World's Most Valuable Stamp	Sweden Post page about the 3 skilling banco error of color.
Bibliography
Mackay, James A. The World of Classic Stamps, 1840-1870, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972.
Williams, L.N. and M. Rare Stamps, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1967.
Young, Walter G. Stamp Collecting A to Z, New York: A.S. Barnes, 1981.
Linn's Stamp News.
Stamp Collector.
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