In 1856 you could buy one in British Guiana for a penny. In 2014 in New York, the only one in existence sold for 9.5 million dollars. Shoemaker Stuart Weitzman is the current owner of the world's most expensive stamp - the 'one-cent Magenta', and James Barron's entertaining new book takes the reader on a journey into 'Stamp World' as he calls it, where recluses, aristocrats, show-offs and genuine boffins abound. One owner died in a US prison, having been convicted of murder, another tried to prevent his estranged wife from ever inheriting it, and another, an Australian, kept his identity secret for 30 years. This is a book full of fun and bizarre facts about the kooky world of stamp collecting.
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