"Mona Lisa" in Philately: Which Postage Stamp Is the Most Expensive in the World - Here's How Much It Was Sold For
Every philatelist knows: the rarer a stamp is, the more likely it is to be worth a lot.
And if the postage stamp is presented in a single copy, then we may be talking about a sum of several million dollars.
An example of such an expensive brand is "British Guiana".
This sign, issued a century and a half ago, was sold for... 9.5 million dollars.
That is why this unique postage stamp received interesting “nicknames”: “Princess of Philately” and “Mona Lisa in the world of stamps”.
What is known about the British Guiana stamp?
The sign was printed in 1856. There were two more stamps in the series. But their face value was 4 cents.
But the "British Guiana" was distinguished by its 1 cent denomination, which made this postage stamp unique.
The stamp has an octagonal shape. There is a picture on the sign - a three-masted schooner.
The unique stamp was first noticed by a schoolboy from Scotland. This happened in 1873.
The boy did not find the postage stamp in the catalogue and immediately sold the find to a collector for a small sum (literally 1-2 dollars).
Over the years, the value of the stamp increased. In the late 1870s, the sign was sold for $750, and in 1922, for $36,000.
In 2014, the British Guiana postage stamp was sold at auction in the United States. The unique item was purchased for $9.5 million. There are no more expensive stamps. However, it is possible that the record will be broken someday.
Earlier we told you about the most expensive painting in the world .
