This is a list of the highest known prices paid for philatelic items, including stamps and covers. The current record price for a single stamp is US$9,480,000 paid for the British Guiana 1c magenta.
This list is ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value (in bold) in millions of United States dollars in .[1] Where necessary, the price is first converted to dollars using the exchange rate at the time the item was sold. The inflation adjustment may change as recent inflation rates are often revised. A list in another currency may be in a slightly different order due to exchange-rate fluctuations. Individual items are listed only once, i.e. for the highest price sold.
| data-sort-type="currency" | Adjusted price | data-sort-type="currency" | Original price | Item(s) | Example image(s) | Country | Year | in existence | Date of sale | Seller | Buyer | Auction house | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ | $ | Red Revenue block of four and sheet of 25 5-candarin Large Dragon stamps | Qing China | 1878 (Large Dragons) 1897 (Red Revenues) | data-sort-value=1 | Unknown (Large Dragons) 1 known (Red Revenues block of four) 32 known (Individual Red Revenues) | Lam Manyin | Ding Jingsong | Unknown | [2] | |||
| $ | $ | "Ball Cover" with Mauritius 1d red (XX) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=3 | 3 known | Anonymous | Anonymous | Christoph Gärtner | [3] [4] [5] | |||
| $ | $9,480,000 | British Guiana 1c magenta | British Guiana | 1856 | data-sort-value=1 | 1 known | Estate of John du Pont | Stuart Weitzman | Sotheby's, New York | [6] [7] | |||
| $ | $4,000,000 | "Bordeaux Cover" with Mauritius 2d blue (XXII) and Mauritius 1d red (XXI) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [8] | |||
| $ | $4,800,000 | Inverted Jenny block of four | United States | 1918 | 1 (as block of four) 100 (as individual stamps) | Donald Sundman | Anonymous | Private sale | [9] | ||||
| $5,570,760 | $5,570,760 | 500 mon Inverted Centre | Empire of Japan | 1871 | 1 known | June 3, 2023 | Yuji Yamada | Anonymous | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [10] [11] | |||
| $ | $2,970,000 | Z Grill | United States | 1868 | 2 | Donald Sundman | Bill H. Gross | Private exchange | [12] | ||||
| $ | $2,300,000 | Treskilling Yellow | Sweden | 1855 | 1 known | Anonymous | The Box AB | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [13] [14] [15] | ||||
| $ | $1,900,000 | "Missionary cover" with Hawaiian 2c Blue, 5c Blue and two United States 3c Brownish Carmine | Hawaii and United States | 1852 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | The Honolulu Advertiser Collection | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [16] | |||
| $ | $ | "Bombay Cover" with two Mauritius 1d red (XVIII & XIX) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [17] [18] | |||
| $ | $ | grano blue "error of colour" | Two Sicilies | 1859 | 2 | Anonymous | Anonymous | Galerie Dreyfus, Basel | [19] | ||||
| $ | $1,900,000 | "Rush 1847 Cover" with strip of six 10c black stamps | United States | 1847 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [20] | |||
| $ | $1,900,000 | "Xiphopagus Triplet" with two 30r and one 60r stamps | Brazil | 1843 | Unknown | The Islander Collection of South America | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [21] | ||||
| $ | $1,150,000 | Mauritius 2d blue (III) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=12 | 12 known | Anonymous | Mauritian private consortium | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [22] | |||
| $ | $ | "Champion" letter with two 5-centime Strubels in blue misprint and brown 5-centime Strubel | Switzerland | 1855 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | Galerie Dreyfus, Basel | [23] | |||
| $ | $ | "Trondheim" block of 39 4-skilling stamps | Norway | 1855 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [24] | |||
| $ | $2,000,000 | The Whole Country is Red | People's Republic of China | 1968 | Unknown | Anonymous | Anonymous | China Guardian, Beijing | [25] | ||||
| $ | $ | Baden 9 Kreuzer error | Baden | 1851 | 4 | Anonymous | Anonymous | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [26] | ||||
| $ | $1,593,000* | Inverted Jenny | United States | 1918 | 100 | Anonymous | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [27] | ||||
| $ | $ | Mauritius 2d blue (XIII) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=12 | 12 known | The Chartwell Collection of Humphrey Cripps | Anonymous | Spink, London | [28] [29] | |||
| $ | $1,073,340 | Mauritius 1d red (X) | British Mauritius | 1847 | data-sort-value=15 | 15 known | Anonymous | Mauritian private consortium | David Feldman SA, Geneva | [30] | |||
| $ | $1,180,000 | Alexandria "Blue Boy" cover | United States | 1847 | data-sort-value=0.5 | Unique | Anonymous | Anonymous | H.R. Harmer, New York | [31] | |||
| $ | $900,000 | B Grill | United States | 1867-8 | 4 known | The Perry Hansen Collection of U.S. Stamps and Covers | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [32] | ||||
| $ | $970,000 | Red Revenue | Qing China | 1897 | 32 known | Anonymous | Anonymous | Interasia Auctions, Hong Kong | [33] | ||||
| $ | $600,000 | 2-cent unused Hawaii "Missionaries" stamp | Hawaii | 1851 | 1 (unused) 15 (total) | The Honolulu Advertiser Collection | Anonymous | Robert A. Siegel, New York | [34] |