The story of the British Empire is like the story of most empires, a story of communications technology.

The Egyptian Empire floated down the Nile, with papyrus documents carrying news from the Pharaoh.

The Romans built the greatest road network the world had ever seen and had something like a postal system.

If the US is an empire then the moving image of Hollywood helped forge it and the internet connects it today.

And the British Empire, on which the sun never set, was also the empire which the furthest corners of which could be reached by stamp.

The invention of the adhesive stamp in 1840 is vital in the growth of the Empire.

It comes obvious how vital as we look at some of the most valuable (this is not a definitive top 5 by value) British Empire stamps.

1. The 1c Magenta from British Guiana

This old thing? The world's most valuable stamp and a rare unique stamp doesn't look like much. 

This is probably the most famous philatelic rarity in the world.

It last sold in 2021 for $8,307,000 and it’s on show in London. It’s long and convoluted history includes its sale from the estate of imprisoned murderer John Du Pont.

It’s the origin that shapes the 1c Magenta though.

It’s an emergency rush issue for newspaper post, stamped out locally on what was a distant outpost of the UK’s global empire in 1856, when a delivery of British-made stamps was delayed.

That made for a very limited issue of the stamp, and only one of the 1c (there are also 1c and 4c issues) is known to survive.

Accidents are vital to many of the greatest rarities in the world of stamps.

2. 1915 Straits Settlement $500

No-one was spending $500 on postage in 1915, making this stamp a rarity from its printing. 

Singapore was once part of the Straits Settlements, a territory that beautifully illustrates a very typical imperial trajectory: it was first a private enterprise (owned by the East India Company) before being adopted into British India and then becoming a directly governed colony of the British government.

That journey ended in 1867 and the colony was dissolved after World War II.

It issued stamps from 1867, and most are somewhat rare.

This one is very special, immediately marked out by its enormous value of $500.

Such stamps have no postal use, and are made for tax or revenue use.

There were thought to be only nine mint examples (some in the Royal Philatelic Collection) when one was sold in 2015 for Aus$97,500 (around £50,000).

3. Kenya and Uganda 1922 £25

Another high priced stamp and a rather lovely rarity, this 1922 stamp was also certainly not used to send mail.

There is further distinction in its territorial designation, a relatively short-lived imperial state that was born from a protectorate in 1922 and only lasted until 1927.

This issue is also a first for the colony, and its very fine condition helped it to realised $37,500 in 2014.

4. 1 Shilling invert, Jamaica 1920

Whoops! These mint copies belong to the British Government, very few made it into circulation. 

Get an invert and you have philatelic gold.

This 1 shilling upside-down print relies on what all the best inverts rely on - a frame around an image that allows the invert to be visible. (Some inverts can only be identified by inverted water marks and are much less attractive to buyers.)

The relatively high value of the stamp means it was probably a fiscal stamp, maybe connected to banana growing.

In any case, a sheet of 60 stamps were printed, half of which made it to Manchioneal in Portland, Jamaica.

There are mint examples, but used ones are very rare, with just 5 known to survive, 4 cancelled in Manchioneal and 1 in Kingston, where we must assume the other 30 stamps were sent.

One example sold for $24,000 in 2012.

5. Trinidad Lady McLeod stamp

This very plainly cancelled example of a private post sold for £25,000. Image from Spink.

If you think Empires are all “official” you’d be wrong. There’s a lot of undefined fringe, private enterprise and the like around them.

Like this stamp, from Trinidad, which is a private post.

Trinidad was the first non-British country in the empire to issue its own adhesive stamps from 1847 (this is very early in stamp history).

The stamps were used locally on the SS Lady McLeod, a steamship that carried mail from San Fernando to Port of Spain and back.

Most were sold for 5c, with a discount for big purchases.

The stamps were probably printed locally and cancelled with a scribble of pen ink or by tearing off a corner, which marks some survivors.

The stamps were only issued for around a year and are highly prized.

One was sold for £25,000 in 2018.

Buy valuable British Empire and Commonwealth stamps now

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