News-Antique.com - Feb 05,2010 - The 1976 British stamp issue for the Centenary of the Royal National Rose Society featured four individual stamps.
The 8½p 'Elizabeth of Glamis' named after the Queen Mother
The 10p 'Grandpa Dickson'
The 11p 'Rosa Mundi'
But it's always been the 13p 'Sweet Briar' that has attracted the attention of rare stamp collectors around the world.
Whilst millions of these stamps were printed only three exist with the value omitted; ie the 13p face value doesn't appear on the stamp.
During the printing process, during repairs to the cylinder, the face value was temporarily covered with copper. This covering was inadvertently left in place during printing.
The error was discovered before issue and all copies of the stamp should have been destroyed.
However three examples exist to this day.
Two are held in The Royal Philatelic Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The third has just been sold by dealers Stanley Gibbons for £85,000.
Rare stamp expert Paul Fraser commented: "Investing in rare stamps has always been popular given the historic returns. Investment grade stamps of this calibre are what collectors, and investors, fight over"
An even more sought-after investment grade stamp is also currently for sale.
The Tyrian Plum dating from 1910 is one of Britain's rarest stamps.
One hundred thousand sheets, totaling 24,000,000 stamps, were delivered to the post office stores for distribution to Postmasters.
However, following the death of Edward VII on 6 May 1910, it was decided not to go ahead with the new stamp and almost all the stock was destroyed.
To this day only a few examples survive in private hands, making this stamp one of the great rarities of British philately.
Notes for Editors
Paul Fraser Collectibles was founded by Paul Fraser, the ex owner of The Stanley Gibbons Group of Companies.
Paul has over 30 years experience in the Luxury Collectibles market and handled the deal that took John Lennon's childhood stamp collection to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.
Paul was also responsible for the sale of the famous Kirkudbright Penny Black cover to The Royal Philatelic Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Recent sales include Robert Burns' personal bible and George Washington's earliest known signature.
Paul Fraser Collectibles also offers a unique news service reporting on one-off Luxury Collectibles around the world.
For further details visit www.paulfrasercollectibles.com
