The most expensive coin in the world!
Reading time 4 min
Sotheby's was presenting three legendary collectibles in New York City last Tuesday, June 8, 2021.
Among these three treasures - a stamp from a former British colony, a 1933 "Double Eagle" coin, and a sheet of U.S. postage stamps printed with a unique error - auctioned within minutes of each other.
The sale was expeditious, as the auctioneer so aptly put it at the end of the sale "It was the quickest auction of my career! ". The room remained unmoved and did not overbid as the experts had predicted. Several times, the curator asked the audience "Any sign of life?","Are you alive?". A rather dull atmosphere yet exceptional objects.
1 - The most expensive coin in the world: the Double Eagle 1933
2 - The most expensive stamp in the world: The One Cent Magenta
3 - The 1918 U.S. Air Force stamp sheet, "Reverse Jennies”
The most expensive piece in the world: the 1933 Double Eagle
The 1933 Double Eagle on sale is the only one that can be legally owned by a private individual, following a legal battle between the US Treasury and a former owner.
In 2002, it became the second most expensive U.S. coin ever sold at auction when it fetched $7.6 million.
The last gold coin minted for circulation in the United States, the 1933 Double Eagle was never put into circulation. Depicting Liberty on one side and an eagle in flight on the other, they were almost all turned over and melted down.
Only a handful of coins were spared this fate, and a small number entered the market. But in 1944, a Secret Service investigation declared that any coin found in the hands of collectors would be considered stolen.
This exceptional coin eventually sold for more than the estimated price of $18.8 million, making it the most expensive coin in the world!
This coin thus broke the previous record held by the "Flowing Hair" silver dollar (minted in 1794) sold for $10 million in 2013!
The most expensive stamp in the world: The One Cent Magenta
Stuart Weitzman is a famous high-end shoe designer, but also, and above all, a very happy collector and buyer.
This stamp entitled British Guiana 1c magenta was estimated at $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 and finally sold below its estimated price at $8,307,000. Which is still a great sum for such a small piece of paper.
The stamp was quickly described by the renowned auction house as "the most famous and valuable stamp in the world". In short, this 165-year-old dark red stamp with eight damaged and scribbled sides is something of a Mona Lisa of the philatelic world.
At its inception, the stamps of British Guiana, known as Guyana today, were all imported by Great Britain. A shortage in 1855 forced the local post office to order a set of stamps from a newspaper printer in British Guiana. It was subsequently discovered by a schoolboy in 1873, and has since been passed from collection to collection, always breaking sales records.
Let's have a look at the history of this stamp:
At its inception, the stamps of British Guiana, known as Guyana today, were all imported by Great Britain. A shortage in 1855 forced the local post office to order a set of stamps from a newspaper printer in British Guiana. Subsequently, it was discovered by a schoolboy in 1873, and then passed from collection to collection, always breaking sales records.
Among its various eccentric owners, we can count a descendant of a family considered one of the richest in America, John du Pont, who was convicted in 1997 for the murder of a wrestler, and kept his stamp with him throughout his incarceration.
In 2014, it was finally acquired by shoe designer Stuart Weitzman for the modest sum of $9.5 million. Stuart Weitzman followed the tradition that was initiated by the previous owners of this stamp and inscribed his initials SW on the reverse of the precious object.
It is now considered the last "one cent magenta" in existence and has survived the test of time.
" Inverted Jennies " of 1918
The last of Weitzman's three items, which Sotheby's has dubbed "the three treasures," is a sheet of the very first U.S. airmail stamps, dating from 1918. But in addition to being a new type of philatelic collectible, these stamps are famous for their unusual error: due to a printing mistake, the image of an airplane on the front of the stamps appears upside down.
Known as the "Inverted Jennys," after the aircraft's nickname in the design, only 100 of these stamps were produced before the error was discovered. The block of four stamps was sold for $4.8 million, which is $2 million below the expected estimate.
Sotheby's global head of books and manuscripts, Richard Austin, told reporters that the three items "hold an indelible place in history and in our collective imagination."
In a press release, Weitzman said he had accomplished "a lifelong dream of bringing together the greatest rarities in the two great collecting fields of stamps and coins, and then placing these extraordinary treasures, hidden for decades, in permanent public view."
"Today, my dream is to leave a legacy of charities to which the proceeds from the sale of these treasures will go," he added.
The same goes for another Weitzman collectible: an exceptionally rare $20 coin from the 1930s.
June 8, 2021, is therefore an important day to remember in the world of collecting. Many of us attended the sale, both up close or online, curious to see these exceptional items go to new buyers and at what price.
If you are passionate about stamps or are a beginner philatelist, Sotheby's auction house also offers a complete guide in English "7 Things to Know about Managing Your Stamp Collection" to get you started in stamp collecting. You never know, you may have a "golden nugget" in your album.
If you are a collector looking for a tool to inventory and secure your collections, we have written a complete guide to get started on CollecOnline.com and create a collection in 7 steps. You will be able to classify and manage your coin collections for example, on your computer or your mobile.
See you soon.
The CollecOnline team.
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