Culture

Largest and most valuable collection of Icelandic stamps up for auction

By Staff |Nov 27 2015

Unique stamp collection Businessman Indriði Pálsson's collection of Icelandic philatelic rarities received numerous awards and was considered the most unique collections of Icelandic stamps in existance. Photo/postiljonen.se

The Swedish auction house Postiljonen has announced it will be auctioning off the largest and most valuable collection of Icelandic stamps in existence. The collection, which was created by philatelist and businessman Indriði Pálsson, is considered to be completely unique, including numerous philatelic rarities from the earliest days of Icelandic postal history. The collection is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of US dollars at auction.

Postiljonen will auction the collection in three parts, the first auction to take place in March. The local news site eyjan.is reports that the auction, and the transportation of the collection to Sweden, might violate laws on Icelandic antiquities, as the most valuable items in the collection are irreplaceable pieces of Icelandic postal history, including rare postal covers. According to eyjan.is the representatives of the Icelandic Cultural Heritage Agency had only learned about the auction in the media and had not yet had time to look into the matter.