We have already examined the rarest stamps from numerous countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Israel, the Vatican, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, the USA, Monaco, the Falkland Islands, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Malta, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Indonesia, Namibia., and China. Today, we take a look at the rarest and most valuable Hong Kong stamps.
Hong Kong has a rich history. It was part of Imperial China until the 1800s and the Opium Wars. From 1841 until 1997, it was a British colony known as British Hong Kong (with a period of Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945). After 1997, Hong Kong became part of China as a special administrative region (with some changes in the process still in development).
18 Cents Purple Queen Victoria
Hong Kong - 1879/11
Denomination: 3 仙 (Hong Kong cent) - Three on 5 cents on 18 cents
Estimated value: 10,000 (unused) - 12,000 (used) USD
“Hong Kong was taken by force by an East India Company naval force on 26 January 1841 to provide for 2,000 British subject expelled from Canton. The Hong Kong Post Office was founded in August 1841. Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain by treaty in 1861. The first stamps were issued on 8 December 1862. The portrait of Queen Victoria, for this stamp, was engraved by Jean Ferdinand Joubert. A total of six stamps were issued; 2c, 8c, 12c, 18c, 24c, 48c and 96c; each value corresponding to a specific postage rate at the time. The stamps were printed by De la Rue of Great Britain on unwatermarked paper.” - www.stampdomain.com
Hong Kong started issuing stamps in 1862 and continues to issue them today, in 2024. This was during the Victorian era, and since Hong Kong was a British colony, it’s no coincidence that the motif on the first stamps was the bust of Queen Victoria.
All three of the rarest and most valuable Hong Kong stamps date back to that era, and their value is quite interesting. This could be due to increased interest in these stamps from both the UK and China.
4 Cents Slate Blue Queen Victoria
Hong Kong - 1863/08/01
Denomination: 4 仙 (Hong Kong cent)
Estimated value: 300 (used) - 15,000 (unused) USD
Olive-Colored Queen Victoria’s Head / 96 Cents Slate Yellowish-Brown Queen Victoria
Hong Kong - 1865
Denomination: 96 仙 (Hong Kong cent)
Estimated value: 800 (used) - 60,000 (unused) USD
“The Olive-colored Queen Victoria's Head, printed in 1864, is the most expensive historical postage stamp of Hong Kong. The face value of the stamp was 96 Hong Kong cents (12 US cents) and it should have a brownish-grey tone. However, due to a printing error, 52 sheets of the stamp were printed in olive color. The watermark was wrongly styled, and the word "CC" was printed in the wrong place.
Among all 40 pieces of the Olive-colored Queen Victoria's Head that can be found in the world nowadays, there is only one block of four such stamps existing. It has been collected by a number of famous collectors. In January 2012, it was auctioned off for 6.4 million HK dollars (US$824,648), setting a record in the history of Hong Kong stamp auctions.” - www.china.org.cn
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Indonesia - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Indonesian Stamps
Namibia/South West Africa - Rarest Stamps: Most Valuable Namibian (South West Africa) Stamps
