A mint-condition New Zealand 1949 HMS Vanguard stamp is expected to auction for $35,000 this weekend.
The three-penny stamp will appear at Mowbray Collectables' auction in Wellington, New Zealand on October 14.
Could this stamp push the NZ record close?
The stamp is hugely rare because it was printed for George VI's planned visit to the country that year.
Yet the king's poor health saw the trip cancelled and all but one sheet of stamps burned. Just seven examples are thought to remain.
The estimate appears slightly conservative. The same auctioneer sold another of the seven for $48,000 earlier this year.
That sale was a record for a New Zealand stamp – doubling the previous high mark.
A 1906 penny claret colour error will also feature. The stamp was produced to commemorate the 1906 Christchurch Exhibition
The New Zealand Post failed to notice the mistake – the stamp was meant to be orange.
"The story is that one sheet was accidentally sold at the Christchurch Exhibition, which is how they came onto the market," explained the auction house's John Mowbray to Stuff.
"Also, between 1906 and 1958, NZ Post gave one to every New Zealand Prime Minister, Governor General, Minister of Post and Post Master."
It has a $21,000 valuation.
The auction will feature 1434 lots in what is expected to be one of the most valuable stamp auctions in New Zealand of all time.
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