A multiple of the Mauritius 1848-1859 "post paid" 2d blue stamp is valued at £12,000-15,000 ($19,243-24,054) ahead of Spink's November 14 sale.
 The multiple last changed hands in 1993 |
Joseph Osmond Barnard, who arrived in Mauritius as a stowaway in 1838, designed the stamps in 1847.
They were based on the Great Britain issue stamps which entered circulation in 1841.
Just 500 of the first run were printed in 1847, which feature the words "post office" in the left panel, with most used by the governor of Mauritius to send out invitations to a ball.
Examples from 1848 onwards feature "post paid" instead.
The multiple in the sale, while of the less scarce "post paid" variety, features fine impressions and colour along with largely clear margins.
It carries only marginal defects.
Mauritius "post office" 2d blue stamps have realised extraordinary prices in the past, as collectors scramble to add these extremely rare specimens to their collections.
King George V, a noted collector, paid £1,450 for a mint "post office" 2d blue in 1904 - a world record price for a stamp at the time and a figure that equates to around £137,500 ($220,495) today.
In 2011 a "post office" 2d blue made £1m ($1.7m) at Spink London, the current record for a single stamp auctioned in the UK.
We have a selection of rare stamps available.
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