A fair example of the Great Britain 1882 £5 Orange will attract strong attention from bidders at Robert A Siegel's Worldwide Stamps and Postal History sale on April 16-17 in New York.
 The £5 orange was printed on both blue and white paper |
Leading the Great Britain section, the stamp will sell for an estimated $13,000. This valuation provides an affordable option for many collectors, with this being one of the scarcest and most popular of all British high values.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a stunning example of the £5 Orange for sale that far surpasses the one in the present auction, and is available at less than half the price. Ours boasts a neat 13 December 1901 Lancaster circular date stamp and is lettered AL.
Another, unused example of the stamp sold for $20,000 in November 2012.
The £5 Orange stamp exists on both blue and white paper. The blue paper examples, such as the one at auction, were printed earlier than the white paper examples, and are scarcer. However, any example of the £5 Orange is rarely seen, as its high value meant that it was rarely employed for postal use.
The design of the stamp was originally used for telegraph stamps, though the plate was later altered by removing the word "telegraphs" from the top edge and replacing it with "postage". It reigned as Britain's highest value stamp until 1977.
We specialise in sourcing the finest Great Britain stamps and have a magnificent selection for sale that includes the legendary Tyrian Plum and one of the largest multiples from Plate 3 of the Penny Black issue in existence.
