A Beijing stamp collector paid more than HK$2.58 million for one of 32 known Qing dynasty red revenue stamps, setting a new world record for a single Chinese stamp during yesterday's auction by Zurich Asia.
The two-day stamps and postal history autumn auction continues today at the Excelsior hotel.
The winning bid of HK$2,587,500 exceeded the high estimate of HK$2 million but was below the HK$3 million that Zurich Asia director Louis Mangin had hoped for. The 1897 stamp came from a collection in Europe.
'That stamp is not even that rare but it was the most expensive at the auction. We had stamps that sold for two or three times their estimates,' Mangin said.
A complete 1916 'Chinese Empire' set, consisting of 19 stamps with values ranging from half a cent to $10, fetched HK$632,500 - more than double its high estimate.
The strong demand surprised Mangin, who said he did not think there would be much interest given the global downturn. He said he expected the auction to record sales of about HK$20 million, almost double the original HK$10 million projection. The sale was the most successful in a decade, he said.
The 1897 red revenue stamp is a collector's item because there are only 32 recorded copies of the original 50 stamps. They had a nominal value of three cents but had a one-dollar overprint. The overprint was necessary as there was a shortage of stamps following the inauguration of the National Postal Service on February 20, 1897. As a result, a surcharge was put on stocks of three-cent red revenue stamps not yet issued.
The first surcharge printed on to them was 'Equivalent to One Dollar' in small Chinese characters. After a few of the stamps had been overprinted, it was decided that larger characters were needed to better convey the high value of the stamps. The 1897 stamp is an example of the small-character overprint.
Yesterday's sale attracted mostly bidders from Taiwan, the mainland and Hong Kong, Mangin said.
Zurich Asia holds a stamp auction in Hong Kong every March and September. Mangin said he was negotiating some 'big deals' for the next auction, but securing consignments was not easy as rare stamps usually stayed in a collection for decades.
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