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The land of breathtaking lakes, magnificent mountains, and scenic countryside. The country that has never participated in war (you won’t find many war-related stamps here!). The homeland of the world's best cheese, watches, and chocolate. Have you already guessed where we are inviting you today? Right – Switzerland!

Grab a map and keep going south. As the temperature keeps dropping, you will eventually find yourself in the southernmost land mass of the Earth – Antarctica. Read on to find out more about the most famous stamps of Antarctica, as well as some valuable stamps sold during the world’s renowned stamp auctions!

Basically, stamp collectors are more after stamps that have never been in use – or mint stamps, if you want. However, when there are too many mint/unused copies of the same stamp and only few used ones (rarely the case but still), the situation with value turns the other way around. Here are some examples of when used stamps are more elusive – and thus more wanted.

Cherrystone auction is one of the world’s leading philatelic auctions of rare stamps, where one can buy stamps and other philatelic items. The latest Cherrystone auction took place on March 3-4, 2020, and featured the Fred Blau Collection, as well as stamps from the United States

The history of Iceland's post and postage stamps includes an early period corresponding to the Danish postal system (Iceland was part of it) and periods of use of Danish postage stamps and times when the country developed its own independent issuing policies (starting from 1873).

The history of the establishment of the postal service of this country includes several periods when the state was part of earlier state entities (such as the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia) and the modern period (since 1993), which corresponds to the organization of an independent postal service of this state.

Since 1855, Sweden has been issuing its own postage stamps, and in 1875 it has become a member of the Universal Postal Union. By the 18th century, the postal service was already operating throughout the country.

The history of postal service and postage stamps of this country dates back to the Middle Ages. This beautiful state is located in southwestern Europe (the Iberian Peninsula), which has affected its history quite dramatically and was reflected in the postal affairs as well.

This auction house is known to every philatelist be it an experienced collector or a newbie. The company was established back in 1918 in England. The auction house bears the name of its founder - Henry R. Harmer.

Sandafayre is an English online postage stamp auction. It is well known to many avid philatelists from around the world. Having visited the company’s website, the user will immediately notice the company’s commitment to the classics, including design, the auction system, the selection of collections, related accessories, stamp-albums, magnifiers, measurements, albums, catalogs.

This company was founded by a professional philatelist in 1966, and the first auction was held in 1967. In general, David Feldman, who gave his name to this Geneva-based company, certainly belongs to connoisseurs of philately, because he has been engaged in stamp collecting for more than forty years.

This is the oldest European philatelic auction house. Since the 1910s, the name of Heinrich Köhler has been associated with outstanding auctions in the world of philately. At present, this auction house is an essential part of the global philatelic network. Its activities and events are characterized by high quality and loyalty to traditions.

It should be noted that A. Karamitsos is a Greek philatelic auction house, which has an international status and is valued by philatelists from around the world. At the online stamp auctions of this house, one can always observe a large number of registered participants and a large number of lots presented.

Stanley Gibbons is one of the oldest and largest philatelic houses in Europe. This company has been operating in the market for almost three decades. It sells parts of collections or collection sets of postage stamps through impromptu philatelic auctions.

The history of the Israeli post dates back to the centuries-old development of postal service in Palestine, beginning with the Bronze Age. Israel began to issue its own postage stamps since the declaration of independence of the country on May 14, 1948.

A souvenir sheet is a special form of issuing postage stamps in which one or more stamps are printed in a small sheet. As a rule, such sheets are issued in honor of a significant event and their margins contain the corresponding inscription, decoration, or images that continue the design.

Not every postage stamp can be considered a rarity. Collectors who hunt for rare stamps may search for a rarity for two years on average. However, if a philatelic rarity is something that you have not seen on various online stamp auctions for more than two years, then a unique stamp may be found only once in a lifetime.

After the Princess of Philately was sold for 9.5 million dollars, David Feldman decided not to waste time and auctioned the famous collection of postage stamps and envelopes of British Guiana owned by John du Pont. The philatelic auction was held in June 2014 and its results exceeded all expectations.

Philately and collectors have repeatedly helped in the search of bandits. These cases are exhaustively described in various sources. However, it is difficult to imagine a case covered by media more widely than the discovery of one of the most infamous Nazi criminals.

One can find postage stamps of Ukraine at almost any philatelic auction these days. They are popular among collectors from all over the world. Although the stamps you will see in this article are not that expensive as pieces shown in our other top 10 reviews.