Rare Audrey Hepburn Stamps Auctioned Off for Big Bucks!

Stamps featuring the Breakfast at Tiffany's star sold for $600,000 in Berlin

By Brandi Fowler Oct 16, 2010 11:30 PMTags
Audrey HepburnAP Photo/Kai-Uwe Knoth

It pays to have a botched Breakfast at Tiffany's                                                      

A mistake in the German postal service garnered thousands for charity, with a rare sheet of ten commemorative Audrey Hepburn stamps nabbing $601,000 at an auction in Berlin Saturday. 

So, what went down?

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

Thus, he refused to grant rights for the postal system to sell the stamps. 

The stamps were ordered to be destroyed as a result, but a few of the sheets were spared. Ironically, the auctioned sheet was the one sent to Ferrer for approval.

Over half of the money will be donated to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, with the remaining amount given to UNICEF Germany.