Germany doesn't have the greatest track record in the historical narrative but track their stamps throughout time, and you'll be surprised at the twists and turns. While there isn't a plethora of rare German stamps, enough of them make five and six figures at auction to know them by name.
7 Rare German Stamps That Prove Snail Mail Pays Big
There's a lot of German history we'd like to say auf wiedersehen to, but we'd make an exception for these valuable and rare German stamps.
| Rare German Stamps | Recent Sales Prices |
|---|---|
| Baden 9 Kreuzer Error Stamp | $1.73 Million |
| Unissued Audrey Hepburn Stamp | $490,846 |
| Kerstfest Error Stamp | $112,394 |
| 5M Kaiser Wilhelm II Invert Error Stamp | $60,790 |
| 40pf Tientsin Overprint Stamp | $40,200 |
| Sachen 3 Pfennige Red German Stamp | $30,300 |
| Olympic Games Semipostal Stamp | $22,460 |
Baden 9 Kreuzer Error Stamp: $1.73 million
Undoubtedly, the rarest and most expensive German stamp ever sold at auction is the Baden 9 Kreuzer error stamp. The nitty-gritty of stamp collecting can be as complicated as doing triple-digit long division.
So, in the sake of summing things up, this stamp is so special because it was one of the first stamp issues of Baden (an old German state) and was misprinted. The 9 Kreuzer stamp was meant to be printed on pink paper, and the 6 Kreuzer on green. Only the pink was swapped for green in these rare stamps.
In 2019, this rare stamp sold at auction for approximately $1.73 million.
Unissued Audrey Hepburn Stamp: $490,846
The last thing you'd expect to see on a list of rare German stamps is Audrey Hepburn. Yet, here she is in all her Breakfast at Tiffany's glory. Most of these stamp sheets from 2001 were destroyed because her son, Sean Ferrer, refused to grant the German Postal Service copyright use on her image, claiming it was altered.
In 2010, he entered one sheet of these rare stamps into a charity auction, where they sold for approximately $490,846 in today's money.
Kerstfest Error Stamp: $112,394
Not all rare German stamps are older than your grandparents. In 2016, a jolly "Kerstfest" stamp was rejected from circulation because of a misspelling. Kerstfest became Kerstfeest, and so they were pulled and reprinted.
In 2019, a mint sheet of these stamps came to auction and sold for $112,394.
5M Kaiser Wilhelm II Invert Error Stamp: $60,790
Inversion errors are some of the most notorious in the stamp-collecting world (Inverted Jenny stamp, anyone?). The German Empire has its own infamous inverted stamp from 1905. The 5M Kaiser Wilhelm II stamp depicts the Kaiser giving a speech to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the unification.
Some of these red-illustrated and blue-bordered stamps had the image inverted 180º. With their age and error, these stamps are quite valuable. Reportedly, only 27 of these stamps have survived, and one sold in 2016 for $60,790.
Related: 13 Most Valuable Postage Stamps in the U.S. and the World
40pf Tientsin Overprint Stamp: $40,200
Germany used to be an expansive empire, and its imperial city-states/kingdoms were all responsible for printing their own postage stamps. A rare one of these imperial stamps came from the German-occupied Chinese post of Tientsin.
These stamps were, well… stamped with the word China, with the word starting in the bottom left and ending in the top right. Even rarer than these provisional stamps are those that were printed reading "down" or the start of the word in the top left and the ending in the bottom right.
Very few examples exist, one of which came to auction in 2021. It sold for just over $40,000.
In stamp collecting, overprint refers to an additional graphic or element added to the stamp after it has been issued. Many of these are ink stamps applied over the postage during the mailing process.
Sachen 3 Pfennige Red German Stamp: $30,300
The 1850 Sachen 3 pfennige red German stamp is one of the most impressive and beloved mid-19th-century stamps ever made. As Saxony's first stamp, this stamp has strong historical weight, and its age means very few have survived.
When one of these classic stamps comes to auction, collectors take notice. It's why a Sachen 3 pfennige stamp from the first issue year sold in 2015 for $30,300.
Olympic Games Semipostal Stamp: $22,460
The 1980 Olympic Games are one of the most infamous in Olympic history because of the Cold War tensions that led to the United States and several other countries boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow. German Olympic-themed stamps were pulled before they could be issued, but a German postal worker kept some of them.
A handful of these have appeared over the years, with one stamp heading to auction in 2017 and selling for $22,460.
Hyperinflation wracked the post-WWI Weimar Republic, and stamps were frequently used as currency, like this 1 million mark stamp issued during this period.
5 Reasons You Can Label a Stamp as "Rare"
There are numerous reasons a stamp might be considered rare. Since rarity plays a major part in auction value, it's good to know what makes a stamp worth more than its face value.
- The stamp has some kind of production error. Usually, production errors, like inversions, are quickly caught. So, few error stamps are printed, and even fewer make their way into circulation.
- They are a country's first stamp. Stamps haven't been around for thousands of years, so every governing body (many no longer existing) made their own stamps, and these first batches can be quite valuable.
- Very few prints of a stamp were made or have survived. Some stamps had small print runs, and others have been lost to time. Fewer numbers can draw bigger crowds at auction.
- The stamps were never issued. In rare cases, some (perfectly fine) stamp sheets were kept from circulation, and these unissued sheets are much more valuable than used examples.
- The stamp design is crisp and pristine. Older stamps can lose their color and print quality over time. The more visually pristine and crisp a stamp, the more valuable it is. And for really old stamps, the rarer it is.
These Are Stamps You Don't Want to Return to Sender
People have been collecting stamps for generations, and these collectors mean business. Whether the values rise or fall, there's always a collector waiting for a specific stamp to come to auction. And while chances are slim that you'll find one of these rare German stamps on one of your great-grandparents' love letters, it's worth rolling the dice for.
