– The most valuable stamp on the planet

by Francis Quamina Farrier
Let us discuss one of the nicer topics which Guyanese can, and should be talking about, among ourselves and with our non-Guyanese friends and colleagues at this time. As we are about to celebrate our country’s Jubilee Year, we can discuss the World’s rarest and most valuable postage stamp.

The British Guiana One-Cent Magenta Stamp is now the most valuable stamp in the history of the World.
That One-Cent Magenta stamp was printed in Georgetown, at a wooden building which was located on Church Street, immediately east of the National Library. It was first issued on April 4, 1856; exactly 160 years ago.
From its initial humble value of one cent, it has now reached the staggering value of US$9,480,000. This very special postage stamp is now on display at the American Postal Museum in Washington, DC, in the USA, and is being viewed by hundreds of people every week.
How many Guyanese are among those viewing it is anyone’s guess. Happily, I am pleased to say that I have seen it twice; and what a thrill it was for me, setting eyes on that gem of a postage stamp!
The 160 year history of that stamp is almost something for a Hollywood movie script, with all sorts of dramatic twists and turns; including top security transportation, imprisonment and death. From its humble origin in British Guiana, that stamp has travelled from South America to Europe and to North America, where it is at this time. The records at the American Postal Museum reveal how all that came about.

In the early weeks of 1856, the Post Master in British Guiana, Mr E.T.E. Dalton, recognized that the Postal Service is running low on postage stamps, and asked the local printers and publishers of the Official Gazette, Joseph Baum and William Dallas, to prepare an emergency issue of one-cent and four-cent stamps for provisional use, until a shipment arrives from England.
That was done, but not without some controversy over the design of the one-cent stamp. There were heated arguments between the postmaster and the printers, and so not many of the one cent stamps were printed. No one at that time realized that one of those stamps would survive, and over time, would become so famous and so valuable.
In the early years of the existence of that individual one cent British Guiana Magenta stamp, it was not in any way special – as yet.
Its journey to glory commenced in 1873, when it was discovered by a 12 year old Scottish-Guianese school boy, Louis Vernon Vaughn, here in Guyana. He found it among his uncle’s letters. It was not in the best condition, and so the boy sold it for six shillings, to a wealthy local stamp collector N.R. McKennon.
Five years later, in 1878, McKennon’s collection was sold to an English Stamp Dealer, Thomas Ridpath, of Liverpool, England, for 120 Pounds Sterling. He in turn, later sold the stamp to Phillipp von Ferrary for 150 Pounds Sterling.
The value of that one cent postage stamp had already increased dramatically. Ferrary’s massive stamp collection was willed to a Berlin Museum in Germany. But following the death of Ferrary in 1917, the entire collection was taken to France as war reparations, following the end of World War One.

In 1922, American Industrialist Arthur Hind bought the stamp for US$32,500, making it, for the first time, the most valuable stamp in the world.
Hind had wanted to own the stamp since he had heard of it when he was a boy. However, eighteen years later, in 1940, Frederick T. Small, an Austrian living in Florida, who had secretly bought the Magenta stamp, sold it to a group of investors, headed by Pennsylvania Stamp Dealer, Irwin Weinburg, for US$280,000. A flamboyant character, Weinburg spent the next decade promoting it with theatrical flair. Yes, that One-Cent Magenta Postage Stamp, printed right here in Georgetown, was going places in the world. It became such a prized possession that in 1976, in the USA City of Philadelphia, when taking it from one location to another, Irwin Weinberg had it secured in a brief case with a secret code lock, which was then handcuffed to his wrist for perfect security. The journey was even made in an armored car.
The history of that British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp continued into the twentieth century with a dramatic turn of events. John du Pont who had bought the stamp for US$935,000, was also an ardent Amateur Wrestling fan. He was convicted for third degree murder, with a sentenced of 13 to 30 years in prison, where he died. Then for some time the location of the stamp was unknown, and the owner was secret.
However, on the death of Author Hind, his will disclosed that a dwelling, furniture, paintings, but not my stamp collection”, was for his widow. Ann Hind sued her husband’s estate for the One-Cent Magenta stamp, claiming he gave it to her before his death. The case was settled in her favour.
Finally, on June 17, 2014, the British Guiana one cent Magenta stamp was sold at an auction for US$9, 480, 00. The new owner is Stuart Weitzman. That price broke the World record for a single stamp.
In 2015, the One Cent British Guiana Magenta stamp was once again put on public display at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, USA.
There will be a brief suspension of the Exhibition from May 23, 2016 to June 10, 2016, after which it will remain on display during 2017. For Guyanese, this is the opportunity to have the joy to view it, should you be in Washington, DC.