"Stamps are the original collector's item. These aren't that valuable, but you should have no trouble selling them for about $20."
-Expert
Facts[]
- Fact 1: The modern postage stamp was first proposed by Austria-Hungarian clerk Lovrenc Kosir in 1835, but wasn't implemented until England reformed its postal system in 1840.
- Fact 2: The world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued on May 1, 1840. An unused Penny Black is valued at over $3,000 today.
- Fact 3: The first American postage stamps were issued in 1847, and featured Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
- Fact 4: The hobby of stamp collecting, sometimes known as philately, began almost immediately after the issuing of the first stamps. It remains one of the world's most popular hobbies, with an estimated 200 million collectors worldwide.
- Fact 5: The most valuable stamp in history is the "Treskilling Yellow," a single Swedish stamp misprinted in 1855. It sold for over $2.3 million in a 1996 auction.