The so-called “Bordeaux Letter,” held by an anonymous collector from Singapore, has fascinated philatelists for over a century. The contents of the letter are nothing to write home about, but what really sets it apart from any other letter is the combination of stamps used to mail it.
On October 4, 1847, when Edward Francis, a wine merchant from Port Louis, the capital of the British colony of Mauritius, informed his partners in Bordeaux that he had received the 48 barrels of wine they had sent and had already sold almost a third of them, he purchased two stamps that were worth literally pennies back then. Now, they are worth millions!
The Mauritius Blue is one of the most famous postage stamps in the world and considerably more expensive than its cousin, the Mauritius Pink. The Bordeaux Letter features original copies of both, which makes it the most expensive letter in the world, with an estimated selling price of over $5 million.
The infamous Mauritius postage stamps were mistakenly created in 1847 by an engraver who added “Post Office” next to Queen Victoria’s profile, rather than “Post Paid.” 500 copies were made and sold before the mistake was rectified. Today, only 27 copies are left (12 blue and 15 pink), and they are treated as mythical treasures by philatelists.
Clean “Mauritius Blue ” stamps, free of postal stamps, are valued at 10-15 million euros ($11.4 – $17 million), but they are so revered by philatelists that they rarely exchange hands. The Bordeau Letter, for example, was auctioned in 1993 and has been in the possession of the same mysterious Singaporean collector ever since.
