–at New York auction

A RARE 19th Century postage stamp from British Guiana, the former British colony now known as Guyana, has been bought by an anonymous bidder for a record US$9.5 million at auction in New York.The famous British Guiana one-cent magenta stamp had been sold on three previous occasions, each time setting the auction record for a single stamp.

The multi-million-dollar collector’s dream measures just 2.5cm by 3.2cm, and had not been publicly exhibited since 1986.
Apart from setting a new world record for the price the stamp has fetched, the one-cent magenta was also the most expensive item by weight and size ever sold, according to Sotheby’s auction house.

“Every collecting area has its Holy Grail. For stamps, it is The British Guiana,” Sotheby’s wrote on its website, noting that the stamp is often described as the “most famous” and “most valuable” in the world.

The stamp humbly originated as an improvisation, initially going into circulation when a shipment of stamps from London was delayed and the then British colony’s postmaster asked printers to produce three stamps until the shipment arrived.

The one-cent magenta, as well as a four-cent magenta and a four-cent blue were created; but only the one-cent stamp is thought to have survived.
Printed on magenta paper, the stamp bears a three-masted ship and the then colony’s motto, “We give and expect in return.”

It was last owned by John du Pont, heir to the du Pont chemical fortune, who died in jail in 2010 following his 1997 conviction for the murder of an Olympic wrestling champion.

The stamp, acquired by du Pont in 1980 for US$935,000, was sold by his estate. Some proceeds are expected to be donated to the Eurasian Pacific Wildlife Conservation Foundation.

(Caribbean360)