Most expensive and rare stamp

British Guiana 1C Magenta is the most expensive, rare stamp in the world. The current value of the stamp is $ 83,07,000. It was published in 1856 in British Guiana (now Guyana) in limited numbers. There is only one copy still exist. The size of the stamp is 29mm x 26mm. It is the only stamp not mentioned in Britain's Royal Philatelic Collection.

The Story of 1C

In 1856, three types of stamps were issued. The 1C was used in local newspaper and two 4C were used for letter postage.

During that time, stamps for British Guiana were printed in England and shipped to the South American colony. All three types of stamps were sold before the new stamps arrived. Postmaster E.T.E. Dalton asked the publishers of the official newspapers in Georgetown, Joseph Baum and William Dallas (who also printed the first seals of the colony in 1850) to print stamps for urgent purposes.

Dalton gave some hints about the design. Baum and Dallas used their newspaper printer to print 1C and 4C stamps on a bright magenta paper. They designed the stamp within the black lines with the sailing ship image and the newspaper objective "Damius petimus que vicissum" ("We give and expect in return").

Dalton was not satisfied with the design of the stamp. To protect against forgery, all postage stamps were ordered to be signed by a post office clerk.

Current structure of the rare 1C stamp

There are several 4C stamps are available but only one copy of 1C has been found so far. Now the stamp corners are octagonal in shape. It bears the "EDW" signature of clerk E.D. Wight. It was postmarked on April 4, 1856 in Demerara.

Who found the rare stamp?

It was discovered in 1873 by a 12-year-old Scottish schoolboy, Louis Vernon Vaughan, in the Guyanese county of Demerara amongst his family letters.

Guyanese to London

Vernon Vaughan stamp catalogue did not have the record of 1C Magenta so he sold it to local stamp collector Neil Rose McKinnon for six shillings.

In 1878 McKinnon sold his stamp collection to Liverpool stamp dealer Thomas Ridpath for 120 pounds.

In the same year Thomas Ridpath sold 1c to Philip Ferrari de La Renotière for 150 pounds. He is a noted stamp collector having worldwide collection.

His huge stamp collection was ready for the Berlin Postal Museum. Ferry was an Austrian citizen living in France so World War I put him in danger. So, he fled from France to Vienna in 1915 and then to Switzerland and died there in 1917. Following Ferry's death and the end of World War I, France received the entire stamp collection as war compensation.

Arthur Hind bought the 1C stamp at auction in 1922 for 32,000 pounds. He was an English textile industrialist and philatelist.

In 1940, Hind family offered it for private sale through the philately department of Macy's department store in New York City. Fred "Poss", an Australian engineer from Florida, bought it for $ 40,000. Poss had wanted to own the stamp since he first heard about it. After he bought the 1C, Small had the complete collection of British Guiana stamps.

In 1970, Weinberg purchased the British Guiana 1c magenta for $280,000. He was one of nine investors who formed a syndicate of Pennsylvanian. He first saw the stamp as a teenager at the New York World's Fair. He travelled widely to exhibit the stamp, carrying it in a locked briefcase to which he was handcuffed and accompanied by armed security. The publicity helped to increase the value of the stamp. He allowed the public to see the rare stamp.

The stamp sold to John E. du Pont in 1980 at Robert A. Siegel auction for $935,000. He was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. He died in prison while serving a sentence of 30 years for the murder of wrestler Dave Schultz.

The stamp purchased by Stuart Weitzman from the DuPont estate on 17 June 2014 at a Sotheby's New York auction for $9,480,000. He is an American shoe designer, entrepreneur, and founder of the Stuart Weitzman shoe company. He designed footwear for Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.

The 1C is re-auctioned on June 8, 2021 for $8,307,000. It is purchased by the stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons.

World Record of 1C

1C broke the world record for a single stamp auction for the fourth time. It broke the record of $ 2,300,000 for a Treskilling Yellow, 1855 Swedish stamp in 1996.

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