Japan Stamp Sells For World Record Price Of 5.4 Million Euros

On Saturday, June 3, David Feldman International Auctioneers had the great honour to offer one of most important Japanese stamp collections including the most valuable stamp of Asia: the 500 mon Inverted Center.

An Asian gentleman, bidding via phone, was delighted to become the buyer. The underbidder, an esteemed European collector, was very disappointed to be outbid. He said, "I had prepared my bid as high as 4 million Euros and even made a few more steps, but now I must congratulate the new owner!".

In 1871, the first series of Japanese stamps comprised stamps featuring a dragon framing the denomination in "mon" currency which was inserted in the center. One sheet of the highest value, the 500 mon, had the center value inverted, and only one stamp with this error has ever been discovered, and that was over 100 years later in 1973 by an American collector. The stamp was immediately acknowledged as the most important one in Japanese philately, and from that moment onwards it rose in fame and value through private sales, from a mere $75,000 at that time to millions over the last 50 years. It was the first time that this stamp was auctioned since it was first sold in 1973.

The auction took place both in Geneva and Tokyo, in collaboration with the Tokyo stamp auction company Stampedia, while also offering online. The stampwas sold by David Feldman International Auctioneers

Here is an image of the stamp

WOW, sales like this is what the mass media pickups on. In doing so it advertise the hobby. That in its self may bring new hobbyist. I for one say more the marryer.

I'm also looking forward to the wedding.

I'll have to check my Japan dups, may have seen one in there.

This stamp and its (at the time) pending auction was mentioned in an article on Japanese Philately in the recent issue of the APS' The American Philatelist. The entire article itself was an informative read on early Japanese issues.

5.4 MILLION EUROS ---- and all I got is a forgery of the regular stamp .

Yours is prettier. That's a very ugly stamp for €5.4m!

Hi
I haven't got the inverted 500 mons!
Is the inverted 200 mons worth anything?
Interested in any advice.
Thanks

Hi Pshann, yours is a forgery of 200 Mon stamp, displayed upside down and thus not with an inverted center. The two small characters on both sides of the value inscription read as "San-Kou", meaning "reference" or "reference material" and were used by some forgers (I call them "honest forgeries").

- Hironobu

Thankyou
I suspected something was wrong