The most precious Olympic rings
In his new stamp market column, Michael Burzan takes a look a unique, unissued mint stamp that was originally intended to celebrate the 1980 Olympics, and asks if it could become the world’s most expensive modern stamp
This is certainly the surprise of the year for collectors of modern Germany and for Olympic thematics: for the first time ever, a mint copy of the unissued surcharged Sports stamp from 1980 is set to go under the hammer! The Berlin auction house Schlegel has announced that this sensation of German post-war philately will feature in their 15-17 May sale.
The graphic artist Günter Jacki had designed the impressive motif with the five Olympic rings on a white flag with bluish shades. However, his 60 + 30 Pfennig surcharge stamp, in support of the German Sports Aid Foundation, scheduled for issue in April 1980, never reached post office counters.
It had already been printed. But after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at the end of 1979, the participation of many countries in the XXII Summer Olympic Games in Moscow was called into question and ultimately boycotted. The National Olympic Committee of the Federal Republic of Germany joined the boycott, and the political environment meant issuing a stamp promoting the Olympic Games was out of the question. The issue was withdrawn before the postal sale started, and the entire print run was destroyed.
‘Gscheidle error’ escaped
No one would have been able to own the original flag motif with the Olympic rings if a few copies had not mistakenly come into circulation through the family of the former Federal Minister for Posts and Telecommunications.
First printings had been given to Kurt Gscheidle (1924-2003) as Postmaster General. After the end of his term in office in April 1982, his family used stamps from his desk to frank private mail. Among them were some of those unissued Olympic values that were later to become famous under the name ‘Gscheidle error’.
Even the used specimens are among the top rarities in Germany. About two dozen have been discovered so far, 20 of them loosely used or on piece. Four whole covers have been preserved, including a postcard, with which the wife of the former post minister entered a prize competition.
After the first used examples appeared on the philatelic market and fetched five-figure auction prices, Deutsche Bundespost declared that they were not legally postage stamps. The remaining copies from the Gscheidles were returned and destroyed, and the postal price of the used values was refunded.
But the ‘Gscheidle stamp’ received an entry in the Michel catalogues: ‘Not issued’ it says under Mi XIII ‘1980, Summer Olympic Games, Moscow’.
Only one unused specimen has been preserved in private hands. It owes its existence to the formerly common practice of enclosing the franking for the recipient of a letter for his reply. This piece, sent out as return postage in a letter for a friend of Mrs Gscheidle, survived the affair in mint quality. It already received a BPP expert certificate four decades ago, dated 29 August 1983.
The only mint offering, starting at €100,000, now gives a well-heeled collector or investor the chance for a unique ‘over-complete’ collection. Thanks to the popular Olympic theme, competition from international bidders is also expected. This may become the most expensive modern stamp worldwide, topping even the famed unissued ‘Audrey Hepburn’ stamp of 2001.