5- 1847 Mauritius 1d Red Post Office – $1 million
Based on the design of the Penny Black, though is far more primitive, the 1847 Mauritius 1d Red is one of the most expensive post stamps ever sold.
This particular stamp was designed by Joseph Osmond Barnard, an Englishman who run away on the ship to Mauritius and went on to make his dreams come true on the island.
It is noticeable that his stamps have been made by locals because they are different from the ones produced under the British government.
He just issued 500 stamps on September 21, 1847, with the majority used by the wife of the governor of Mauritius to invite friends to a ball on the tiny Indian Ocean spit.
The stamps were originally believed to have been an error, with the words “Post Office” thought to have been intended as “Postage Paid” by collectors.
However, it was later revealed that the “Post Office” text was intended, and that “Postage Paid” replaced it in the next issue.
