FLOAT
The unique British Guiana 1c Magenta of 1856 itself - the only known example: octagonal, black ship vignette on magenta paper, with clerk initials and postmark, photographed for its 2014 a major auction house sale.
The unique British Guiana 1c Magenta of 1856 itself - the only known example: octagonal, black ship vignette on magenta paper, with clerk initials and postmark, photographed for its 2014 a major auction house sale.

British Guiana 1c Magenta

Maker
British Guiana (British colony)
Year
1856
Rank
1 of 100
Identifier
1-cent magenta, black ship vignette on magenta paper, octagonal, 'Damus Petimus Que Vicissim' motto, clerk-initialed 'EDW'; the unique surviving example

British Guiana 1c Magenta

Realized at auction: $8,307,000, dated 2021-06-08. This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The single most famous stamp in the world and the only known example of its kind — repeatedly the highest price ever paid for a single stamp, the 'Mona Lisa of philately.'

1-cent magenta, black ship vignette on magenta paper, octagonal, 'Damus Petimus Que Vicissim' motto, clerk-initialed 'EDW'; the unique surviving example

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$8,307,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
2021-06-08

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, British Guiana 1c Magenta is number 1 of 99 in the stamps entries of the FLOAT 100. 75 of those 99 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (1 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08

Track your own

FLOAT is a free tracker. Add the stamps you own, keep photos and certificates with each item, and see a value built from real sales at your item's grade. This page is a public reference; it does not offer, price or sell insurance.