A set of 35 Chinese Candarin ochre stamps has sold for £79,000 ($120,238) at British Bespoke Auctions in Winchcombe, UK on January 29 the Daily Mail reports.
This represents a massive increase of 7,800% on a £1,000 estimate.
 The stamps were brought back to the UK by a British missionary in 1882 |
The stamps were brought back from China by a missionary in 1882 and are considered among China's rarest philatelic items.
Stamp dealer Allan Grant of Rushstamps, who bought them, explained to the publication: "Finding unused examples in such superb condition, still on a sheet, is incredibly rare.
"Eventually it was between myself and one other bidder. With the buyer's premium added, the total I paid was £79,000.
"This is a most incredible find and will cause huge excitement amongst philatelists. There has never been anything like this."
Individual specimens can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Experts believe the present lot could sell for in excess of £250,000 ($380,500).
Larry Gibson, co-chairman of Daniel Kelleher Auctions - which is to partner up with Rushstamps to sell the lot in Hong Kong - commented: "I've had a long career specialising in Chinese stamps. And this is by far the biggest and most unparalleled find of my life.
"It is absolutely amazing. I have never known anything like it. I think bidding will easily be in excess of £250,000.
"They will create a sensation in China, with millionaires vying with each other to buy their culture back. They will be desperate to get these marvellous stamps."
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