Rare Stamp Fetches Record $9.5 Million at Auction
- June 17, 2014 23:35
Once owned by a wealthy murderer, a 1-cent postage stamp from a 19th century British colony in South America sold for $9.5 million on Tuesday. Sotheby's says it is a record price for a single stamp and the fourth time that the stamp has broken the record for its category.
The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta was estimated to bring between $10 million and $20 million. It has been called the "Mona Lisa" of stamps for its rarity. The buyer asked to be anonymous.
It had belonged to John du Pont, of the chemical fortune, who was convicted of murder. He died in 2010 while serving time for the 1996 shooting of Olympic champion U.S. wrestler David Schultz. His estate sold the stamp.
Printed in black on magenta paper, and just one inch by one and a quarter inches, the stamp bears the image of a three-masted ship and the colony's motto, in Latin: "we give and expect in return."
