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We’ve already talked about the rarest stamps from Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Vatican, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, USA, Monaco, Falkland Islands, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Malta, Finland, and Sweden. Today we’ll take a look at the rare and most valuable Polish stamps.
The history of Poland is quite complex, and this also applies to the period from 1860 to 1924, which is of interest to us in this article. All 5 postage stamps we will see today, which are the 5 rarest and most valuable postage stamps, belong to that period. In the span of just over 60 years, the origin of these stamps is connected to 4 different countries/administrations, which had a certain level of control over the territory of Poland.
Arms of Poland (Series: Eagle in Laurel Wreath)
Poland – 1924/07/09
Denomination: 25 & 40 gr (Polish grosz)
Estimated value: 27,500 USD (sold at Cherrystone Auction, October, 2014)
“The date of the establishment of the Polish postal service is considered to be October 18, 1558, when King Sigismund II Augustus established a regular postal route between Krakow and Venice via Vienna, using relay horses. The main reasons for creating this new institution were the desire to become independent from the imperial postal service and the Fugger family trading posts from Augsburg, as well as to establish a permanent information corridor for diplomatic and trade contacts with other European countries.” - www.poczta-polska.pl
5pf on 2pf Overprint
General Government Warschau overprints / Poland - 1919
Denomination: 5 pf (German reichspfennig)
Estimated value: 35,000 USD (sold at Cherrystone Auction, October, 2009)
“On May 2, 1647, at the Sejm in Warsaw, a new postal ordinance was established, which required cities to pay ¼ of their income to the postal service.” - www.poczta-polska.pl
“On October 24, 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth disappeared from the map of Europe. The monarchs of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Austrian Empire carried out the Third Partition of Poland. The postal service then fell into the hands of the partitioning powers, primarily serving an administrative function. Polish lands came under the jurisdiction of the postal systems of the occupying states, along with their legal regulations.” - www.poczta-polska.pl
“It is worth noting that by 1912, almost 800 postal facilities were operating in the former lands of the Kingdom of Poland. The Polish Post was revived only after regaining independence in 1918. “
The first Polish stamp had been issued on January 1, 1860. Since this was the period Poland had been ruled by European powers of this period, the first stamp shared similarities with the Russian stamps. The difference was that in the center we can see Polish coat of arms.
Polish Kingdom / Poland – 1860/01/01
Denomination: 10 kop (Russian kopek)
Estimated value: 40,671 USD (sold by Christoph Gärtner, August, 2018)
“The first postage stamp in Poland was issued in 1860, in the brief period when – between the November and January Uprisings – the Postal District Administration of the Congress Kingdom of Poland had little autonomy (earlier and later, only Russian stamps could be used). As a result, the first Polish postage stamps were in circulation for only five years, which is why today they are collector’s rarities.” - culture.pl
Two of the most valuable Polish stamps date back to 1919. On 7 October 1918 the Second Polish Republic / the Republic of Poland had been established (it lasted until 6 October 1939). Since Poland did not have its own postage stamps at that time, it used overprints on designs that had been in use until then.
6h Overprint (Inverted)
Poland – 1919
Denomination: 4h (Austro-Hungarian heller)
Estimated value: 50,000 USD (sold at Cherrystone Auction, October, 2009)
The two most valuable Polish stamps are both overprints of Austrian stamps, dating back to 1919.
10kr Overprint
Poland – 1919
Denomination: 10 kr (Austro-Hungarian krone)
Estimated value: 55,000 USD (sold at Cherrystone Auction, October, 2014)
If you want to see more rare and valuable Polish stamps, be sure to check out these 2 videos:
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