Most valuable stamp in the world goes up for Auction in NY
One-cent Magenta: a most treasured prize from British Guyana
The One-cent Magenta is the stamp of all fantasies. Valued at more than $15 million dollars, the next auction, organised by Sotheby's, will take place on June 8, in New York. The One-Cent Magenta is one of few stamps to raise so much interest.
The question is whether its value can be based upon its unpredictable singularity, or on the incredible saga that follows. Few stamps have unleashed so much enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the world of philately holds its breath and the greatest collectors will be present.
It was a shortage of stamps in British Guyana in 1855, which led to the smallest and most expensive stamp in the world.
The story behind the most expensive stamp in the world
British Guyana regularly imported its postage stamps by boat, produced by the famous London printer Waterlow & Sons. In 1855, however, following a clerical error, imports were delayed, thus causing a severe shortage of stamps in Guyana. Faced with this situation, which was threatening the proper functioning of the postal service, the postmaster, Mr. Edward Thomas Dalton, asked the governor for permission to print a provisional issue. He turned, in extremis, to the only printing press in the British colony in Georgetown, that of J. Baum and W. Dallas, which published the Official Journal of Guyana and the exceptional order, was launched.
The printing press has red and blue paper on which certain criteria must be affixed:
A sailboat in the centre of the stamp, the one taken from the Maritime section of the gazette and symbol of maritime trade, the activity that made Guyana one of Britain's most successful colonies.
a Motto from the poet Horace, in Latin, representing the colony "Damus Patimus que Vicissim" translates "We give and we claim in return"
Stamp value: one or four cents
Country
Postage
This stamp has the weakness of its simplicity. Uncomplicated and even very primitive, it does not require a lot of imagination for an experienced forger to play with the chisel. That is why the post office clerks received instructions to initial the stamps. The unique One Cent magenta is marked with the initials E.D.W, for Edmund Dalzell Wight, on the upper left corner, most likely the same person who decided to cut the four corners of the stamp. The registered postmark is DEMERARA, AR. 4, 1856 and pasted on a letter certainly addressed to Andrew Hunter.
The premature disappearance of this stamp may be due to its size and elongated shape, which intrudes inelegantly on the space reserved for the address.
Its discovery by a child: the beginning of the legend
In 1873, at the age of 12, the young Scotsman Vaughan, Hunter's nephew, looked for stamps in his family's papers to complete his collection. This was how he found the One-Cent Magenta. This stamp scarcely drew his attention, damaged at the corners; it did not awaken his senses. Despite this, he decided to remove it from the envelope to present it to NR MacKinnon as a swap.
Disappointment ensued, since the latter asked him to come back when he had an example in better condition. Tenacious, a discussion followed and finally to please the young man, McKinnon offered him 6 shillings.
The history of the One Cent Magenta sales
Today extremely coveted, the One-Cent has certainly aroused the interest of the philatelic community following its acquisition by the very rich and famous philatelist Philippe von Ferrary de la Renotière.
Upon his death, in 1917, he bequeathed his splendid collection to the Berlin Museum. As part of the World War I compensation demanded from Germany, France seized the collection in its entirety. During the 14 auctions, Arthur Hind, a wealthy New York industrialist offered himself this "piece of paper" for 352,000 Francs. Following his death, his widow sold it to a millionaire who was an enthusiastic admirer of the stamp for $40,000. In 1970, Fred Poss Small decided to sell his collection internationally known by philatelists and collectors. The starting price was $100,000 and raises were over $10,000. Irwin Wienberg won the auction with $280,000. In 1980, it sold at auction for $935,000 when it was John du Pont who became owner of the famous stamp. A dark murder story condemned the collector to 30 years in prison. Meanwhile, John du Pont had carefully kept the precious stamp in an armored safe at his bank.
Following the death of John du Pont in 2010, Sotheby’s sold the holy grail of philately on 17 June 2014 for $9,480,000 just two minutes after the start of the sale. The actual owner is the famous shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.