Sotheby’s conducted an amazing sale on June 8 offering two famous philatelic treasures: the block of four Inverted Jenny stamps and British Guiana 1c Magenta. The sale has been named as one of the fastest in Sotheby’s history. Both lots realized the incredible sums, however, they have not managed to reach the estimates announced by the auction house this spring.
The block of four Inverted Jenny stamps was bought by David M. Rubenstein, a co-founder of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group. He is also the owner of such valuable and historically important documents as the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The block had been estimated by Sotheby’s before the sale at $5 million to $7 million. However, but the lot managed to achieve $4.9 million, which is $2 million more than its last reported sale price.
British Guiana 1c Magenta was acquired by London stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons. The most valuable stamp in the world has been offered with the presale estimate of $10 million to $15 million but went for $8.3 million. This is the first time when the 1¢ Magenta has been sold for less than its previous realization. Its selling price is about $1.2 million less than Weitzman spent on it in 2014.
All the proceeds from this sale will go to charitable ventures, including a family foundation.
