Stanley Gibbons Purchases The World’s Most Valuable Stamp

Official press release from PTS Member Stanley Gibbons regarding the purchase today. Stanley Gibbons plc is delighted to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Stanley Gibbons Limited has purchased the world’s most famous and valuable stamp - the 1856 1c Magenta from British Guiana - the only one in existence.
The unique 1c Magenta was purchased at auction in the USA for a total consideration
of US$8.307mn (including buyer’s premium and overhead fee) and as a result the world’s most valuable stamp will now be owned by the world’s longest established rare stamp merchant.
The stamp will be displayed at the Stanley Gibbons flagship store at 399 Strand, London. It is also the Group’s intention to make it available for everybody to enjoy owning a piece of this unique and storied item through the increasingly popular concepts of fractional ownership and the creation
of digital collections.
The purchase will be financed through an interest free loan from Phoenix S.G. Ltd (PSG), the Company’s majority shareholder.
The Group is also considering partnering with Castelnau Group Ltd (Castelnau), a company controlled by Phoenix Asset Management Partners, as Castelnau seek to develop a new digital platform on which to buy, sell and most importantly, enjoy collectible assets. The proposed partnership with Castelnau has the potential to provide the Group with a minority shareholding in the new digital platform at zero cost as well as cost free access to the platform itself.
Any future agreement with Castelnau could constitute a related party transaction under the AIM rules and further updates will be provided in due course.
For more details about the stamp and to register your interest in learning more about the possibility of purchasing a piece of history, please visit www.1c-magenta.com
Graham Shircore, Group CEO said,
‘We are delighted to bring together the world’s largest stamp dealer and the world’s most valuable stamp’. We look forward to making this historic artefact available to a much wider audience
than ever before, and to bringing it back to the Home of Stamp Collecting’.
‘We are also excited about the potential opportunity to work further with Castelnau in creating a world leading digital platform for collectibles and the significant benefits that this may bring to the Group.’
Harry Wilson, Group Chairman said,
‘This purchase represents a new and highly significant next step in the rebuilding of the world’s oldest stamp dealer. Not only does it demonstrate the belief of our majority shareholder in its prospects but also the Group’s increasing confidence in its own prospects.’