KEY POINTS:
Would you pay $4000 for a stamp which originally cost a penny?
The global interest in a set of rare stamps held by a Wellington man suggests there are quite a few people who probably would.
Part of the deceased estate of philatelist David Jarvis, who died last
year having never married and childless, a lifetime's collection of 500 lots of stamps with an estimated value of $400,000 will go under the hammer at an auction in the capital tomorrow.
Among the compilation are all three of the 1855 Full Face Queens - New Zealand's first stamps - and a set of about 40 penny blacks - the world's first postage stamps used in Great Britain in 1840.
And while these stamps were once just a penny, these days you'd be lucky to get a penny black for anything under $300.
"For a penny black in good order that's probably the cheapest you'd pay," said Christopher Burtt of stamp auctioneer John Mowbray International.
"But the penny blacks from the rarer plates are likely to go for a lot more. One from plate 11 is likely to go for about $4000."
Mr Burtt said bidding was likely to be competitive for the "very sought-after" Prussian Blue, which Mr Jarvis also had in his collection.
The stamp commemorates the 1935 silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary but because printing was done in the wrong shade of blue all were withdrawn from circulation except for a single sheet.
"We have an estimate of $10,000 on this one and I'd like to think that's fairly conservative," said Mr Burtt.
Also on offer is a Queen Victoria Inland Revenue 1 official, which originally sold for £1 but is likely to fetch more than $7500.
"Stamps are not a bad investment and it's worth being patient if you've got rare material. You can never go wrong with quality," he said.
Considerable interest had come through postal biddings.
Mr Burtt was unclear where the proceeds of Mr Jarvis' estate were going to as he was a "particularly private person", although the executor is understood to be living in New Zealand.
EXPENSIVE STAMPS
* 1935 2d Prussian Blue Silver Jubilee, error of colour, estimate $10,000.
* 1840 1d Black "VR" Official, estimate $7500.
* 1885 1 Queen Victoria Inland Revenue Official, estimate $10,000.
