1856 British Guiana One Cent Black on Magenta Stamp

The one cent “Black on Magenta” stamp from 1856 is certainly one of the most rare and most expensive stamps of all time. It was from the British colony of Guiana (now known as Guyana).

In 1856, Guiana was in urgent need of an additional supply of stamps. They were normally produced in England, but they could not wait until the new stamps arrived. Desperate, the postmaster asked the publishers of the Official Gazette to print stamps for an emergency issuance.

The stamps were printed in 1 cent and 4 cent denominations. The 4 cent stamps were used for mailing letters and the 1 cent stamps were used for mailing newspapers. They were crude in nature. Their shape was an odd looking rectangle with clipped corners. The stamps depicted a sailing ship with the name “British Guiana”. There was an inscription that said "Damus Petimus que Vicissim" ("We Give and We Seek in Return"). The stamps were printed on poor quality paper in black ink on magenta paper. Post office officials were afraid of counterfeits so employees had to initial each stamp before it could be released for sale.

The stamps were not on the market for very long, which is likely one of the reasons that it is currently so valuable. There is only one known stamp left in the world. The stamp is so valuable, that the last time it was sold was in 1980. That single stamp sold for over $935,000. The stamp currently resides in a bank vault.