In December, Millon Auction Group shines a spotlight on an extraordinary event for international stamps.
On December 16 and 17, 2025, Italy and France join forces to present a sale bringing together exceptional rarities, among the most valuable in the world. Small fragments of paper, collected in a unique catalogue, for a pinnacle of collecting, with participation facilitated jointly between the two locations.
The journey begins in the heart of Milan, where Il Ponte Casa d’Aste will host two sessions showcasing a series of legendary items, starting with the Pontremoli to Genoa cover, universally recognized as “the most spectacular franking of the Duchy of Parma” (lot 331, €80,000–120,000). Illustrated full-page in the Sassone catalogue and also celebrated in the 1983/84 Bolaffi encyclopedic catalogue, it is a true masterpiece of composition: three examples of the 10c black, two single examples, and two extremely rare strips of four of the 40c blue, alongside a pair of the 25c brown-lilac, for a total franking of 4.80 lire.
Lot 331
PARMA 1857 (Nov. 23)
1st and 3rd Issue
Cover from Pontremoli to Genoa, franked at 4.80 lire with three examples of the 10c black, two singles, and two extremely rare strips of four of the 40c blue, along with a pair of the 25c brown-lilac.
Estimate € 80.000 - 120.000
Also within the Milan selection stands another exceptional mixed franking: the splendid letter sent from Verona to Milan, listed at position 9bis in the Sassone catalogue as “among the greatest rarities of Lombardy-Venetia” (lot 202, €30,000–50,000). Three examples of the 30 cent brown from the first issue are paired with two examples of the 10 soldi brown from the second issue, in a combination possible only during the very brief months of November and December 1858, when the coexistence of the two printings allowed juxtapositions now virtually impossible to find.
Lot 202
LOMBARDY-VENETIA 1858 (Nov. 20)
Mixed Frankings – 1st and 2nd Issue
Letter from Verona to Milan, franked at 1.50 lire with three examples of the 30c brown, 2nd type, machine-made paper, and two examples of the 10s brown, 1st type.
Estimate € 30.000 - 50.000
The sale culminates in the Paris session, curated by MILLON, with the rarest stamp of the entire Italian area, offered at auction for the first time: the 1859 Sicily color error, the famous half grano printed in the blue tone of the 2 grana instead of the traditional orange (lot 394, €250,000–500,000). This color inversion has made it a true cult piece among stamp collectors, of which only two examples are known to exist from the same letter; the one presented in Paris is preserved on a perfect fragment.
Lot 394
SICILY 1859 (21 April)
½ gr. blue, Second plate, color error. Stamp printed in the color of the 2 gr. instead of orange.
Estimate € 250.000 - 500.000
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