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The Superstar

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

Even the non-collecting world took notice: A single stamp sold for nearly nine-and-a-half
million dollars.

Truth be, the One-Cent British Guiana — known as the Magenta, because of the paper on
which it’s printed — isn’t much to look at. It was printed in 1856 by a local newspaper
printer after the South American colony’s post office had run out of stamps. It was
discovered 17 years later by a school-boy on his uncle’s mail. He sold it to a friend for
six shillings, and my how the price has grown since!

It’s the only known example of this stamp. Every time it’s been sold in the past century,
it has set a record. This time was no exception, and its net price was more than ten times
what the previous owner, John du Pont, paid in 1980.

Du Pont, an heir to the chemical fortune, exhibited the Magenta at shows until about 30
years ago. Then, a decade after that, he was convicted of murder and eventually died in
prison, and the stamp hadn’t been seen until now.

Collectors hope the new owner — whoever it is — will allow the stamp to be shown again.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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