A stamp from 1856 has been sold at an auction for $9.5 million dollars.
According to The Associated Press, the 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta was sold on Tuesday in New York. The stamp has the record for the fourth time of breaking the auction of a single stamp.
Sotheby Auction House’s vice chairman, David Redden, spoke about the sale, calling it “a truly great moment for the world of stamp collecting.”
He also stated since the price was so high, it would be a hard price to beat. The stamp is extremely rare, not even being seen in public since 1986. The British Royal Family has a stamp collection, the Royal Philatelic Collection, and it is the only stamp not in their possession.
The Guardian reported that the last owner of the stamp was a millionaire by the name of John du Pont, who would later be convicted of murdering an Olympic wrestler.
The very first owner of the stamp was a 12-year-old boy, who found it in 1873 in some of his uncle’s papers.
Du Pont’s estate, who sold the stamp, will donate some of the proceeds from the sale to the Eurasian Pacific Wildlife Conservation Foundation, a charity that was championed by the millionaire.