Rare Audrey Hepburn Stamps Auctioned Off for Big Bucks

A rare sheet of ten commemorative Audrey Hepburn stamps sold for big bucks at an auction in Berlin Saturday: $601,000 to be exact!

14 million Hepburn stamps were printed in 2001 with an image of her famed role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. However, Hepburn’s son, Sean Ferrer, pointed out that the images were incorrect after the postage was printed. The mistake? Rather than having sunglasses dangling from her mouth, there was a cigarette holder there instead.

Ferrer refused the postal service rights to sell the stamps after noticing the mistake, and the stamps were ordered to be destroyed as a result. A few of the sheets were spared though, making them any collector’s dream! To make the rare even more rarer, the auctioned sheet was the one sent to Ferrer for approval.

The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund will receive the bulk of the proceeds, but the remaining amount will be given to UNICEF Germany.