British Guiana 1c magenta

Common card · No. 276466

The British Guiana 1c magenta is regarded by many philatelists as the world's most famous rare stamp. It was issued in limited numbers in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1856, and only one specimen is now known to exist. It is the only major postage stamp ever issued in the United Kingdom or British Commonwealth that is not represented in Britain's Royal Philatelic Collection. It is imperforate, printed in black on magenta paper, and it features a sailing ship along with the colony's Latin motto "Damus Petimus Que Vicissim" (We give and expect in return) in the middle. Four thin lines frame the ship. The stamp's country of issue and value—rendered in black uppercase lettering—surround the frame. Neil McKinnon, a local collector in Guiana, purchased the only known example of the stamp in 1873 after first declining to buy it. A Liverpool dealer, Thomas Ridpath, recognized its rarity and purchased it in 1878. Noted collector Philipp von Ferrary acquired the stamp that same year, and owned...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Joseph Baum and William Dallas printers for local postmaster, E.T.E. Dalton, Public domain