The first postage stamp came into existence in 1840, known as the Penny Black stamp and stamp collecting began almost immediately after the issue of the first adhesive stamp. The first stamp albums appeared in the 1860s when worldwide collecting was still a very small endeavour. It took almost two and a half decades to come up with a term for this new hobby. Coined in 1865 by Georges Herpin, ''Philately'' was adopted as a term for the studying of stamps and stamp collecting. The word ''Philately'' is the English version of the French word ''philatelie'', coined by Georges Herpin in 1864. He took the Greek root word ''phil'' or ''philo'', meaning ''an attraction or affinity for something'' and ''ateleia'' meaning ''exempt from duties and taxes'' to form ''philalelie''. This hobby can be as inexpensive and expensive as one desires.
This hobby has developed over the years. Apart from learning about the larger world, stamp collection for the purpose of returns and investment is fairly modern. Ever since nations began to regulate and standardize the post, there have been people collecting expensive stamps.
What makes a stamp valuable. Typically, what makes the stamps valuable is determined by four elements,
Centering. Assessing the centering is the first step in evaluating a stamp. Stamps with nearly equal margins are considered more visually appealing, and thus sell for more. The design should be balanced in relation to other parts pf the stamp such as the margins and vignette.
Condition. The condition of the stamp is one of the most important factors when determining the value. Expert collectors understand that perforations missing, faded colour, paper flacks and other imperfections greatly diminish stamp value. Stamps are generally graded on a scale such as Superb, Very Fine, Fine and Good. Anything below good isn't worth acquiring. The stamps value decreases depending on the number of tears, creases, fading and other aesthetic issues that are present.
Gum. Stamp gum is glue found on the backside of the stamp. The highest valued stamps have perfect gum that is still original, undamaged and in the same state as when it left the post office. This is often referred to as ''mint, never hinged''. Generally, the following condition describe the grade of the stamp's gum
Mint. Stamps with full, undamaged original gum, as sold by the post office.
Unused. Stamps whose original gum has been damaged, often through the use of stamp hinges.
Unused without gum. Stamps that have lost their original gum.
Rareness. There are various factors that determine the rareness of a stamp, which often require a philatelist and expert opinion. Stamps that have errors in printing, content and perforation are considered rare, as are those limited-issue stamps where only a small number exists.
Most valuable stamps of the world.
British Guiana One Cent Black on Magenta. This is the world's rarest and most famous and valuable stamp. There is only one left in the world, which is exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum. It has historic value. The story goes like this. At the time, all the colonies had to wait for stamps to arrive from the UK. The boat was delayed, and the postmaster created his own collection of stamps and carries his signature. The British Guiana 1c Magenta (1856), which has been described as ''the Mona Lisa of the stamp world'' was bought for 8.3 million dollars in the year 2021.
The Penny Black. This was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. Issued by Great Britain on 01 May 1840, the stamp bears a portrait of Queen Victoria. Only two stamps of the early issue can be found now, and these are regarded as real treasure.
Penny Red. Succeeded penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty of seeing a cancellation mark on the Black Penny. Theses stamps are rare. The early series Red Penny was sold by Stanley Gibbons for 550 thousand Pounds.
The 1 cent Benjamin Franklin Z Grill is one of the most valuable stamps of America. The reason behind the rarity is ''Z Grill'' embossing on it. A grill is an embossed pattern on the face of a stamp to prevent its reuse. The US Postal Service used several types of grills in the early days of the office as they experimented with the best methods to stop fraud. Only two Benjamin Franklin Z Grill stamps are known to survive. This stamp was last sold for $935,000 in 1998. The price in 2005 was $2,9,70,000
24 c Declaration of Independence, is a rare example of a collector's stamp that is highly sought after, simply because it is a work of art. This stamp features a highly detailed, two tone rendering of John Trumbull's famous painting of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress. There are 42 individual figures depicted on the stamp. This stamp is worth $ 625,000.
1869, 24 c, Declaration of Independence.
Tama 6 Yo Stamp of Japan is one of the rarities of the orient world. The stamp is legendary in Japan and is called ''Tama 6 yo". It is a 6 SEN of Cherry Blossom issue from 1875 in orange- brown colour. Before this find, only 6 other copies were known. This Japanese stamp's catalog value is 336,900 dollars and was sold by the Postiljonen Jubilee Auction for 124,635 dollars in Sweden. All the existing stamps are owned by great Japanese collectors.
The Tiflis Unica is one of the oldest stamps of its kind. Printed in the year 1857, the Tiflis Unica was issued in the Russian Empire (in modern Georgia) for the city post in Tiflis (now Tbillisi) and Kojori in 1857. These stamps today are known as Tiflis Unica stamps. There are currently only five known surviving stamps. Russian collectors are willing to pay a lot of money for these rare stamps. One of these was sold at the David Feldman auction for $700,000 in the year 2008.
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