FLOAT
A tete-beche pair of the 1863 Ottoman 20-para black on yellow Tughra first issue - the same tete-beche form as the record Samakov cover named by this constituent, though not that cover itself.

Ottoman Empire 1863 Tughra (First Issue)

Maker
Ottoman Empire (Sultan Abdulaziz)
Year
1863
Rank
59 of 100

Ottoman Empire 1863 Tughra (First Issue)

Ottoman Empire 1863 Tughra (First Issue) by Ottoman Empire (Sultan Abdulaziz) (1863) is ranked 59 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $70,800 on 1 August 2010. The first stamp of the Ottoman Empire, called 'the most important item of Turkish Philately' by Spink.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The first stamp of the Ottoman Empire, called 'the most important item of Turkish Philately' by Spink.

20pa Tughra first issue; record lot = tete-beche block of six with red control band on Samakov to Istanbul cover

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$70,800
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
1 August 2010

Spink, Aug 2010: the famous Samakov cover, $70,800. NOTE: figure is for a multiple/cover.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
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2026-08-08