British Guiana 1c Magenta

About British Guiana 1c Magenta

The rarest and most valuable stamp in the world. Only one specimen is known to exist. Printed in Georgetown, British Guiana, when regular stamps ran out. The stamp was locally printed on magenta paper with a crudely designed ship and motto. A 12 year old schoolboy named L. Vernon Vaughan discovered it in 1873 and sold it for six shillings. It sold at auction in 2014 for 9.5 million dollars and again in 2021 for 8.3 million. The stamp has spent time in the collections of Philippe von Ferrary, Arthur Hind, and John du Pont.