The British Guiana One-Cent Magenta.
THE most famous stamp in the world made a new auction record at Sotheby’s in New York last night. The British Guiana one-cent Black on Magenta sold for $9,480,000. It was the fourth time in its history that it set a new world record. No stamp is rarer than the sold surviving example of the British Guiana, a penny issue from 1856. Re discovered by a 12 year old Scottish boy living in South America in 1873 it has been out of public view since 1986. The British Guiana was last sold at auction in 1980 when it was purchased for the then record price of $935,000.
David Redden, Sotheby’s Vice Chairman, commented: “We are thrilled with tonight’s extraordinary, record-setting price of $9.5 million – a truly great moment for the world of stamp collecting. That price will be hard to beat, and likely won’t be exceeded unless the British Guiana comes up for sale again in the future. I have to say I’m a little sad to see it go – when I was eight years old this was the most precious object in the entire world, and I never dreamed I would have it in my hands.”
The previous auction record for a single stamp was CHF 2,8750,000 (approximately US$2.2 million), set by the Treskilling Yellow in 1996. The previous auction record for any philatelic item is CHF 6,123,750 (approximately US$4 million), set by The Bordeaux Cover in 1993 – the cover including both of the Mauritius “Post Office” stamps.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for February 14, 2014)