A used example of the Chinese "Whole Country is Red" stamp was the top lot of Robert A Siegel's May 15 auction in New York.
It sold for $35,000, an increase of 250% on its $10,000 estimate.
The issue was released in November 1968 and depicts happy workers holding copies of Mao's Little Red Book below a map of China.
 The "Whole Country is Red" stamp was withdrawn soon after its release |
It was famously withdrawn soon afterwards, as while all of China is coloured red the contested island of Taiwan appears white. The mistake was spotted quickly and as a result, very few were used.
It has since become one of the most sought after examples of Chinese philately, with one example selling for $475,000 in 2009.
In 2012, a large format example sold for $1.5m in a sale in Beijing.
A Canadian cover featuring an 1876 8c blue registration was another highlight, achieving $17,500 against a valuation of $15,000 - an increase of 16.6%.
The lot was described by Siegel as "the finest 8c registration cover used in the proper period". Only 15 such examples from 1876-1877 are recorded, many of which are of a low grade.
An 1840 penny black on the rare Southgate "pickpocket" envelope, a caricature of the unpopular Mulready stationary and the only known example of this configuration, was another highlight selling for $13,500.
We have this 1859 Newfoundland cover featuring a superb used example of a 4d scarlet-vermillion.
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