The Canada 1868 two-cent Large Queen on Laid Paper will provide the undoubted highlight when the first instalment of the Brigham Collection of Canada auctions next month.

Canadian Ron Brigham is selling off his vast collection of postage stamps from his home nation across 10 to 12 auctions.

Canada's rarest stamp

Part one, devoted to the Large Queen issue from 1868 to 1897, will take place in Toronto on February 21-22 at Brigham's specially established auction house.

Could the Canada 1868 two-cent Large Queen on Laid Paper break the $1m mark? It is the rarest Canadian stamp, with just three believed to exist.

Furthermore, along with the one-cent and three-cent varieties, the two-cents were the first stamps produced by the Dominion of Canada.

This double attraction has collectors salivating.

"No Canadian stamp has ever sold for $1 million before," Brigham, who acquired the item in 1998, told Canada's CBC.

"We think there's three, four, maybe six in this collection that might sell for that price."

Brigham explains he will be selling his most beloved treasures in this first auction.

"The Large Queens are my favourite collection amongst all those that form The Brigham Collection because of the beauty of the design, the crisp colours and the uniformity of the series."

At Paul Fraser Collectibles, we are selling another Canadian rarity, this time from the country's pre-Confederation days.

It is the only mint, never hinged single 1851 12d. Black in existence: The Black Empress.

For all the latest postage stamp auction news, sign up to our free newsletter.