This 1 cent stamp is now worth a cool $20 million

For philatelists, it’s considered the "Mona Lisa" of stamps.

The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp, believed to be the only one of its kind left, is expected to fetch between $10 million and $20 million at Sotheby’s auction in New York today.

Such a price would make it the most valuable stamp in the world, as well as the most expensive object by size and weight, Sotheby’s said.

AFP

The octagonal-shaped stamp measuring 1 inch-by-1¼ inches went into circulation in the former British colony in South America in 1856 — 16 years after Britain issued the world’s first postage stamp.

It was part of an emergency batch printed by a local newspaper after a stamp shipment from Britain was delayed, leaving the postmaster at risk of running out of the important commodity.

During its long history, the little stamp has travelled widely.

AFP

The first owner was a 12-year-old boy in British Guiana, who discovered the stamp in 1873 among some correspondence left behind by his uncle, who had moved to Barbados.

The budding stamp collector sold the humble looking piece of paper to a dealer for a few shillings so he could buy more stamps for his collection.

The stamp passed through the hands of numerous collectors in London, Paris and the United States before being snapped up at auction by the late millionaire John E. du Pont, who paid a record $935,000 for the stamp in 1980.

Du Pont, an heir to the du Pont chemical empire, was later convicted of shooting dead an Olympic champion wrestler and died in jail in 2010. You know, the usual.

His estate is now selling the stamp. And it could be yours for a cool $20 million.