You could be the owner of a unique trophy asset – the most sought after Great Britain stamp available in the market right now.
The stamp is the Edward VII 6d IR Official, a stamp which was not only withdrawn almost immediately after issue, but which is the only example available on the market currently. Only 19 sheets were ever printed (a tiny amount) and on withdrawal, almost all were destroyed. A rare stamp like this will often only become available once in a generation – and we have managed to secure it in a private sale to offer it to you.
As one of our customers, I am giving you the chance to own it first before I offer it to potential buyers in the Far East and Japan. In these markets it is likely to get snapped up at well over the asking price as a prized asset and one which will only increase in prestige and value in years to come.
With the world’s rarest stamp, the Swedish Treskilling Yellow having just sold at auction for an undisclosed sum in excess of £1.59M, the 6d IR Official looks significantly undervalued at its nominal catalogue value. This is particularly so based not just on its pedigree and provenance but fundamentally since there is only one of these stamps available on the open market.
If you needed further convincing of its quality, this stamp originally formed part of Bill Gross’s famous collection. He knows an investment grade stamp when he sees one… In case you’ve forgotten, he sold a collection in New York in 2007 for over USD $10M, where it massively outperformed all his other funds.
The Legendary Stamp
Issued on 14 March 1904, the Edward VII 6d purple, overprinted I.R. Official, has earned the title “Britain’s rarest stamp” due to the fact that it was issued on the very day that an official order came into effect withdrawing all such stamps from use.
Other than the one we have just secured, the only other known examples of this stamp today belong to the Royal Collection or are in a museum.
Since both the Queen and the National Postal Museum are highly unlikely to sell theirs, this is potentially the only example of this stamp that you will ever be able to buy.
It has also seen some staggering growth in recent years. It has always been a valuable stamp, but the price has risen dramatically since 2005. Take a look at the graph below tracking the price of the stamp over the last 10 years.
You don’t need to be a financial expert to interpret this graph.
The value of the stamp has trebled since 2005 and the last 3 years have recorded some astounding growth in value; and that’s just its ‘catalogue price’ – it’s true worth is uncharted.
Put this down to the increased interest in rare stamps as both a trophy and an investment vehicle and the swathes of both speculators and collectors entering the market, particularly from China and India fueling the demand.
This stamp has increased in value by 150% in the last 3 years and I don’t believe that it’s going to stop there.
As I mentioned, the famous Treskilling Yellow, which became the world’s most valuable stamp in 1996 when it sold for 2’875’000 Swiss Francs at public auction, has just changed hands once again, maintaining its reputation also as the world’s most valuable object by weight (as a comparison, by weight, that’s several hundred times more valuable than weapons grade plutonium!).
At a private auction held in Geneva last week, the famous stamp was acquired by an international consortium for around £1.59m.
We think that Britain’s rarest stamp belongs in that sort of company – but as a Stanley Gibbons customer I’m giving you the chance to buy it today at its catalogue price of £375,000.
If you are interested in this extraordinary opportunity to acquire one of the rarest and most coveted stamps in the world, please contact me directly on (00) 44 (0)20 7557 4449. Alternatively, email kheddle@stanleygibbons.co.uk
P.S. At the recent London Festival of Stamps, we secured a small handful of exceptional pieces, both GB and Commonwealth rarities. If you do miss out on the 6d IR Official (since I only have one to offer you), do keep a close eye on your inbox over the next few weeks. As soon as the items are fully authenticated, described and mounted, I shall be offering them to you on a first come first served basis.