A Greek error, the 1928 5d Athens Academy inverted centre, is among the stars of an important world stamps auction this week.
The beautiful item has an opening bid of $5,000 at Cherrystone Auctions’ Rare Stamps and Postal History of the World sale between February 6 and 7.
The stamp's lack of faults adds to its value
Why the strong opening price? Rarity is the first factor. This is one of only 16 known examples of this error. Second is condition. Most of those 16 have faults, yet this example does not.
This is “an opportunity to acquire a treasure of Greek philately in perfectly sound condition, with an unobtrusive cancel,” explains the auctioneer.
The stamp is also nicely centred, adding to its value. The piece has a catalogue value of $12,470.
The Academy featured in the image was established in Athens in 1926 - two years before Greece produced the stamp - and is the country’s main research centre.
There are 13 lots of Greek stamps in the auction. These include an entire set of small die proofs for the 1906 Olympics (opening bid $3,500).
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