A rare Chinese Whole Country is Red stamp has sold for $445,103 at InterAsia Auctions in Hong Kong.
The lot headlined the July 20 sale of Chinese stamps and postal history.
The auction house explained: "Within the first half day of its issue in Beijing, the editor of the China Atlas Press had discovered that there were geographical inaccuracies in the map (the Archipelagos of Xisha and Nanshi were omitted).
"The stamp was withdrawn almost immediately; however, some post offices had already sold the stamps before the official date of issue.
"It has also been surmised that another reason that the stamp was withdrawn was that notwithstanding its name, Taiwan is coloured white (rather than red)."
One single, larger example of the issue set a world record for a Chinese stamp when it sold for $1.1m in a 2014 auction.
A 1980 Year of the Monkey 8f sheet of 80 made $192,878 - a new world record for the issue.
It beat the previous record of $191,000 set at a 2011 sale at InterAsia.
While the stamp is not particularly rare, its huge popularity in China ensures that demand remains constant.
Click here to check out our fascinating selection of stamps for sale.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about postage stamp auctions.
A rare Chinese Whole Country is Red stamp has sold for $445,103 at InterAsia Auctions in Hong Kong.
The lot headlined the July 20 sale of Chinese stamps and postal history.
The auction house explained: "Within the first half day of its issue in Beijing, the editor of the China Atlas Press had discovered that there were geographical inaccuracies in the map (the Archipelagos of Xisha and Nanshi were omitted).
"The stamp was withdrawn almost immediately; however, some post offices had already sold the stamps before the official date of issue.
"It has also been surmised that another reason that the stamp was withdrawn was that notwithstanding its name, Taiwan is coloured white (rather than red)."
One single, larger example of the issue set a world record for a Chinese stamp when it sold for $1.1m in a 2014 auction.
A 1980 Year of the Monkey 8f sheet of 80 made $192,878 - a new world record for the issue.
It beat the previous record of $191,000 set at a 2011 sale at InterAsia.
While the stamp is not particularly rare, its huge popularity in China ensures that demand remains constant.
Click here to check out our fascinating selection of stamps for sale.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about postage stamp auctions.