Red Mercury 712188 218441262 2008-06-10T17:45:57Z Eubot 231599 Hatnote formatting, see [[User:Eubot/Hatnote formatting]] {{otheruses|red mercury (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox_RareStamps | common_name = Red Mercury | image = [[Image:Zinnoberroter Merkur.jpg|150px]] | country_of_production = [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]| location_of_production=| date_of_production= [[1856]] | nature_of_rarity = Few remain | number_in_existence= few | face_value = 6kr | estimated_value = [[United States dollar|US $]]40,000 | }} The '''Red Mercury''' is the rarest of [[Austria]]n [[newspaper stamp]]s ([[postage stamp]]s issued for the mailing of newspapers). Austria's newspaper stamps first appeared in [[1851]]; they depicted a profile of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], the Roman messenger god, and were not denominated, the color of the stamp indicating the value. Blue indicated the 6/10 [[kreuzer]] rate for one newspaper, yellow for ten newspapers (6kr), and rose for 50 newspapers (30kr). In [[1856]], the design was [[Postage stamp reprint|reprint]]ed in red (or scarlet), and along with the rose, was made equivalent to six kreuzer. However, it was soon superseded by a new design which came out in [[1858]], and only a few copies have survived. Recent auctions have valued it at about US$40,000, with unused copies worth about 10% less than used. On [[February 7]], [[2008]] an unused copy was auctioned in Vienna for 26,000 [[euro]].<ref>[http://www.hdrauch.com/results/index_s.php Rauch Results - Coins<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> == Notes and references== {{Reflist}} ---- * ''Philatelic Gems 1'' (Linn's, 1989) ==External links== * [http://www.sandafayre.com/gallery/stamp_628.htm Picture of Red Mercury at Sandafayre] [[Category:Postage stamps]] [[de:Zinnoberroter Merkur]] [[he:מרקורי האדום]] [[nl:Rode Mercurius]] [[ru:Красный Меркурий]]