A 1920s-era 10-cent stamp containing an extraordinarily rare printing error sold at auction Friday for $74,000.

Keith Marsh, owner of The Stamp Center, which handled the auction, would not disclose the identity or location of the buyer, who submitted bid by telephone as almost 100 people gathered at Marsh’s firm looked on.

Marsh had expected the mint-condition unused stamp, which bears a likeness of President James Monroe, to sell for between $25,000 and $50,000.

“It exceeded our expectations by quite a margin,” said Marsh, who said the stamp is the most valuable his 27-year-old business has ever handled.

Posted: 09|24|06 at 4:50 pm. Filed under: US News.