uk rarest stamp

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what is the uk's rarest stamp

cherrs

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From 1882 onwards certain stamps were overprinted for the use of the Inland Revenue and other government departments. Under Clause 17 of the Stamp Duties Management Act of 1891 it became a criminal offence to be in possession of such stamps, let alone trafficking in them. Several prosecutions in 1903-4, including that of one of the most prominent philatelists of the period (who received a prison sentence) led the authorities to withdraw these official stamps abruptly on May 14, 1904, and destroy existing stocks. That this decision was taken in great haste is borne out by the fact that a new stamp, the Edwardian 6d overprinted �I.R. OFFICIAL�, was only released a few weeks previously. As a result this stamp is now Britain�s rarest stamp to have been regularly issued. Today it�s worth �90,000 mint and �70,000 used.

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most expensive

Britain�s most valuable stamp is undoubtedly the celebrated Penny Red of 1864 printed from Plate 77. Previous Penny Reds, with lettering confined to the lower corners, had been produced from plates numbered up to 68, and so the first of the stamps with letters in all four corners were to have been produced from plate 69. However, this plate and several others � 70, 75, 77, 126 and 128 � were rejected as being sub-standard. What is most peculiar is that at least one sheet of stamps was printed from Plate 77 and, even more remarkably, a few stamps with this plate number engraved in the side panels got into the hands of the public. There is an example in the Tapling Collection at the British Library and about half a dozen other examples (mint or used) have so far been recorded.