The Papal States or officially the State of the Church were a series of territories in the middle of the Italian Peninsula under the direct rule of the pope from 756 until 1870. The Papal States were among the major states of Italy from the 8th century until the unification of Italy that took place between 1859 and 1870. The Papal states issued their first nine stamps in 1852. Todays stamp is the issue with the denomination of 6 Bajocchi (Baj). An unused copy like this has a CV of 500-1.200 $/€.