Rare stamp may fetch record price at auction

[1]

One of the world’s rarest stamps is going up for auction this weekend and could fetch a record-breaking price, the head of a Geneva auction house said.
The Swedish “Treskilling Yellow” is believed to be the only surviving misprint of an 1855 three shilling stamp that was supposed to be green. It has fabled status among collectors and is considered one of the world’s most valuable objects pound for pound. “I’m hoping it will be a new record,” auctioneer David Feldman said Friday.
He oversaw its last official sale in 1996 for $2.3 million (according to the then exchange rate). Saturday’s auction will involve several undisclosed telephone bidders whose credentials have been checked, Feldman told the Associated Press.
All who take part have been sworn to secrecy, but the buyer will have the right to decide whether his name and the purchase price can be revealed after the sale, said Feldman. The Treskilling Yellow is “one of about a half dozen highly notorious stamps in the world,” according to noted US stamp expert Robert Odenweller.
The 1856 “British Guiana 1 cent Magenta” is the best-known of all unique stamps, but has been locked away in a vault since 1980 when it was bought for nearly $1 million by John du Pont. The heir to the du Pont chemical fortune is currently serving a 13 to 30-year sentence for third degree murder.
The Treskilling Yellow has changed hannds at least once since 1996, but little is known about the current owner.