Letter bearing first German stamp sells in auction for €440,000

A letter bearing the first stamp issued in Germany, sent on the first day of the stamp's validity, was auctioned on Friday for €440,000 ($492,660) in the western German city of Wiesbaden.

The Heinrich Köhler auction house said it is the only known complete first day cover - meaning that the letter was sent on the first day of the stamp's validity - of the so-called Schwarzer Einser (Black One). The letter had a starting price of €250,000.

The winning bidder wished to remain anonymous, the auction house added.

The Black One was the first stamp issued in Germany, introduced in the southern German state of Bavaria on November 1, 1849, at the behest of King Maximilian II.

Stamps with the values of three and six kreuzer, the currency used in southern German states before the introduction of the German mark in 1871-73, were also issued on the same day in different colours, but the stamp with the lowest face value is considered the oldest in such cases, the auction house explained.

The world's oldest postage stamp is the British Penny Black, which was issued nine years before the Black One, in 1840.

The letter auctioned in Wiesbaden was sent almost 175 years ago from Wegscheid near the Austrian-German border to Hengersberg, further west, announcing its sender's visit to a merchant there.

Dieter Michelson, a managing partner of the auction house, described an overwhelming response from the collector community at the auction.

"Today's hammer price is an impressive confirmation of the historic piece's value," he said. "This first day cover is more than just a collector's item, it is a piece of history."