A used example of the Chinese "Whole Country is Red" stamp was the top lot of Robert A Siegel's May 15 auction in New York.

It sold for $35,000, an increase of 250% on its $10,000 estimate.

The issue was released in November 1968 and depicts happy workers holding copies of Mao's Little Red Book below a map of China.

The "Whole Country is Red" stamp was withdrawn soon after its release

It was famously withdrawn soon afterwards, as while all of China is coloured red the contested island of Taiwan appears white. The mistake was spotted quickly and as a result, very few were used.  

It has since become one of the most sought after examples of Chinese philately, with one example selling for $475,000 in 2009.

In 2012, a large format example sold for $1.5m in a sale in Beijing.

A Canadian cover featuring an 1876 8c blue registration was another highlight, achieving $17,500 against a valuation of $15,000 - an increase of 16.6%.

The lot was described by Siegel as "the finest 8c registration cover used in the proper period". Only 15 such examples from 1876-1877 are recorded, many of which are of a low grade.

An 1840 penny black on the rare Southgate "pickpocket"  envelope, a caricature of the unpopular Mulready stationary and the only known example of this configuration, was another highlight selling for $13,500.

We have this 1859 Newfoundland cover featuring a superb used example of a 4d scarlet-vermillion.

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