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We invite you to a unique philately exhibition of items from the private collections of members of Prestige Philately Club Prague, Club de Monte-Carlo and Vindobona.
Organised by the Prestige Philately Club Prague (PPCP) in cooperation with the very oldest philately club, the Austrian Vindobona, the exhibition in the Historical Building of the National Museum will present sixty rarities of extraordinary significance from private collections from all over Europe. Rarity stamps were also provided by the world’s most prestigious philatelic club, Club de Monte Carlo. With its scope and the nature of exhibits, the exhibition is a unique ensemble that has not been seen in the Czech Republic before.
Among the most famous exhibits are the Two Pence (blue) and One Penny (red) Mauritius “Post Office” stamps. The world’s first colonial stamp ever issued, the red Mauritius from 1847 can now be seen in Prague. Together with the blue Two Pence stamp, they became legends, showing for the first time in history how unavailable a unique stamp can be. From the original issue of 500 pieces, only 15 red Mauritius stamps have survived to this day. One of them is owned by a Czech philatelist and investor, who lent his piece to the organisers of the exhibition. Its value is estimated at CZK 20 million (approx. EUR 750,000).
Other unique pieces on display at the National Museum include the “vermilion Mercury”. The Mercury, sometimes called vermilion for its specific shade of red, is a world-famous stamp and also the most expensive one issued in Austria. As it was also valid in the Czech lands, it is one of the most expensive stamps in Czech postal history. Traditionally, this stamp is considered one of the icons of the “world classics”, as only 40 pieces have been preserved. Visitors will see this unique stamp, which has always been part of the largest philately collections, in a total of three exhibits. All of them are on loan from Czech owners and their total value is about CZK 14 million (approx. EUR 520,000). The exhibition marks the first time three pieces of this stamp have been displayed next to each other.
The rarities on display include several other exclusive stamps, such as the 2 Cents “Hawaiian Missionary” from 1851, the Austrian 3-crown misprint from 1867, the world’s first newspaper stamps and unique overprints of the Czechoslovak Post of 1919.
An important partner of the exhibition, the Czech Post, will issue a series of stamps with the rarities of the Biennale on this occasion. The exhibited stamps, letters and historical artefacts related to postal services come from private collections. A contribution was also made by the Postal Museum.
As part of this unique project, an attractive “0 EUR” banknote will be on sale at the National Museum, which will appear in a very limited issue including an occasional PPCP overprint.
