February 19, 2009

The first two Mauritius stamps

rare stampsThe first two Mauritius stamps (1847) were also the first stamps authorized by any British colonial government. Only one example of the first stamp is known in unused condition, while three unused second stamps are known.

A 1993 auction by David Feldman of the Hiroyuki Kanai collection of Mauritius resulted in numerous record-setting prices, including the sale of one unused example of each of the first two Mauritius issues. The first orange stamp sold for $1,072,260, and the second blue sold for $1,148,850.