Rare British Guiana stamp set for New York auction
The British Guiana stamp was owned by du Pont chemical empire heir John du PontIt took only two minutes for the British Guiana one-cent magenta stamp to be sold to an anonymous bidder, The stamp had been sold three times before, each time setting the auction record for a single stamp. It measures just 1in by 1in (2.5cm by 3.2 cm), and had not been publicly exhibited since 1986. Sotheby’s auction house said that apart from setting a new world record price for a stamp, it was also the most expensive item by weight and size ever sold. “Every collecting area has its Holy Grail.
For stamps it is The British Guiana,” Sotheby’s wrote on its website, adding the stamp is often described as the “most famous” and “most valuable” in the world. The stamp, printed on magenta paper, bears a three-masted ship and the colony’s motto, “We give and expect in return”.
It initially went into circulation when a shipment of stamps was delayed from London and the colony’s postmaster asked printers to make three stamps until the shipment arrived. A one-cent magenta, four-cent magenta and four-cent blue were created, but only the one-cent stamp is believed to still exist.
The last owner of the famous stamp was John du Pont, heir to the du Pont chemical empire, who was convicted in 1997 of murdering an Olympic champion wrestler and died in prison in 2010.
The stamp was sold by his estate, with some proceeds to be donated to the Eurasian Pacific Wildlife Conservation Foundation
. It last set a record in 1980 when it was sold to du Pont for $935,000. An 1855 Swedish stamp which sold in 1996 for $2.3m had held the previous record for a single stamp at auction
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Comments
I am willing to suggest that there is little known of the original Guyanese who owned the stamp and how he disposed of it. For this information refer to the “Who is Who in British Guiana” text (Fourth Edition) published in 1948 (the original of which was published in 1937.) In the 1948 edition you will find the following entry on page 537. VAUGHAN, L. VERNON Retired Civil Servant. Resides at 10 Croal Street, Georgetown Was a Commissary of Taxation. Is married. Has one son and one daughter. As a Schoolboy in 1872 possessed and sold for six shillings the “world’s rarest stamp” – the famous 1856 B. G. Stamp, now valued $50,000. I wonder what the descendants of Vernon Vaughan must now be saying if they knew of the current value. Is it possible for you to trace them and advise them how their ancestor’s boyish antics has robbed them of a fortune? Erwin Brewster
On the title page of my very first stamp album (1953) was a black and white reproduction of the ‘one cent black’ … and an inscription ” (pounds sterling sign)7300 was paid for this stamp”. I multiplied the figure by 4.80 to convert to BWI dollars but I was unable to comprehend that much money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies_dollar