1925 3 Cts surcharged error stamp to auction for $250,000?

A China 1925 3 Cts surcharged in red on second Peking printing is the headline lot at Cherrystone Auctions' January 14-15 sale, with an estimate of $250,000.

The stamp is one of the "Four Treasures of the Republic" and is regarded as one of the rarest and most desirable stamps in philately.

Just 10 examples of this error were ever produced, with seven used and three unused.

1925 3cts China Cherrystone
The stamp is one of the rarest items of
Chinese philately

The stamp is well centred on bright, white paper and is described by the auction house as being in very fine condition.

It has been signed by the late Peter Holcombe - a renowned dealer and expert.

In recent years examples have achieved strong prices, with a cancelled specimen achieving $240,000 at Cherrystone in 2010.

An unused example realised $266,945 at InterAsia Auctions in Hong Kong in the same year.

A cover featuring a British Commonwealth Newfoundland air post 3c red brown, dating to 1919, is valued at $25,000.

The lot was intended to be flown from St John's in Newfoundland to London, where a £10,000 prize was offered by the Daily Mail to the first crew to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

The stamp was overprinted "Aerial Atlantic Mail", and is the only known used example with this text. Around 30 unused examples are thought to exist.

Ultimately the attempt was unsuccessful, with the aircraft crashing twice.

We have this piece of the Spirit of St Louis, signed by Charles Lindbergh - the first pilot to make a non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

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