A rare Canadian stamp sold for over $200,000 in Halifax on Saturday, Canada.com reported.
An unnamed buyer bid $195,000 — although auction fees increased the overall cost to around $225,000 — one of the highest prices paid for one Canadian stamp. The 12-pence black stamp, which depicts Queen Victoria, was issued in 1851 and originally sold for 12 cents.
Eastern Auctions, a stamp auction firm in New Brunswick, described the specimen as "a superlative mint example of this desirable classic stamp," and "exceptionally fresh with radiant colour and an unusually bold impression on pristine fresh paper displaying strong, clearly visible laid lines."
A mere 1,450 were sold and an additional 49,490 were destroyed, although some still exist today.
This specimen was once owned by the Marquess of Lorne, a former governor general of Canada in the 1800s. It was also part of the renowned Dale-Lichtenstein collection.
This isn't the first time a collector has paid big bucks for such a stamp. In 2009, a Canadian 12-pence black sold for almost $300,000.
And in 2011, a Canadian stamp nicknamed "The Black Empress" sold for $425,000.
Why would collectors pay such hefty prices?
"There are many reasons why people collect stamps and one of them is that they are beautiful pieces of art. But people like to collect history. Having history in their hand, they represent a time period. The first Canadian stamps were in 1851. It's a period of time that you can reminisce about," Charles Shreve of auctioneer Spink Shreves told CBC.
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