A rare 158-year-old postage stamp goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York later this month. Described as the Holy Grail for stamp collectors, extremely rare piece could fetch $20 million when hit the auction block, so could become the world’s most valuable stamp.
The Unique British Guiana 1856 One-Cent stamp, printed on magenta surface-colored paper, was first purchased either on or before April 4, 1856. It was discovered by 12-year old schoolboy Louis Vernon Vaughan in 1873, as part of his uncle’s stamp collection.
Later that year, it was sold and turned up in Paris in 1878 before being passed on to Austrian nobleman Count Philippe la Renotiere von Ferrary, a famous stamp collector. In 1922 ‘the world’s rarest stamp’ was sold for a record amount of $32,500. It went under auction again before finally breaking a new record in 1980, when John E. du Pont paid $935,000.
“I have been with Sotheby’s all my working life, but before I knew about the world’s greatest works of art, before I knew about the Mona Lisa or Chartres Cathedral I knew about the British Guiana,” David Redden, director of special projects and worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s Books Department, said in a statement. “For me, as a schoolboy stamp collector, it was a magical object, the very definition of rarity and value, unobtainable rarity and extraordinary value. That schoolboy of long ago would be bemused and astonished to think that he would one day, years later, be temporary guardian of such a world treasure.”
Now, the stamp is currently on display at Sotheby’s public exhibits in London, Hong Kong and New York before going on sale in the US on June 17.
