A SET of rare Edwardian stamps has sold for £120,000 at a North East auction.

The collection of four mint condition 1903 stamps attracted interest from around the world, with the winner paying double the £60,000 guide price.

The figure is believed to have made the items the most valuable ever sold on Tyneside. The 10d stamps were produced by the Government department the Office of Works in 1903. Of the 1,344 stamps created, 1,200 were officially destroyed when they became obsolete and 134 were used.

The block of four stamps, from the lower right corner of the pane, were one of the few surviving mint examples and were valued at £50,000 to £60,000.

But the price doubled when the Corbitts All World Public Stamp Auction got under way at the Swallow Hotel, in Gateshead, yesterday.

David McMonagle, managing director of auctioneers Corbitts, in Mosley Street, Newcastle, said: “There were two people bidding for the stamps, one on the phone and one in person.

“We started at £50,000 and went all the way up to £120,000 in £2,000 increments. It was a very exciting atmosphere.

“I thought they might go for more than the estimate but I never imagined it would be this much. We’re delighted. They’re the most valuable stamps we’ve ever sold.”

The stamps were new to the market and came from the estate of a deceased collector. Also included was a Royal Philatelic Society certificate to say the stamps had been passed as genuine.

There were 1,739 lots at auction, including stamps from across the world.

Also up for grabs were Penny Blacks, which had been broken up from a Durham-based collection.

Some 200 stamp enthusiasts attended the auction – spending half a million pounds on the various lots.

Previous high value stamps to be sold in a Corbitts auction include a rare Victorian stamp that fetched £15,000 when it went under the hammer in 2010. The inverted One Shilling Stamp of Jamaica, which showed a statue of Queen Victoria in Kingston, was believed to be one of only a handful in the world. In 2005, a Five Pound Orange was snapped up for £16,100. The stamp originated from the Five Pound telegraph stamp. It was produced in 1882 and would then have cost the equivalent of a month’s wages. Only 246,826 were printed as the stamp was prepared for King Edward VII but never issued.

It had a limited print on blue paper before being replaced by a version on white. It was the largest stamp made.