Another British Guiana stamp is extremely valuable—the 2 cent circular variety, issued in 1851, and bearing the postmaster's signature as a guarantee of authenticity.
There are only some ten or eleven copies in existence.
RICE PAPER STAMP.
The pair on the previous page have a history as romantic as anything we have ever heard. Four years ago they were found by an old lady residing in a little village outside Demerara. The vicar of the local church was endeavouring to raise an endowment fund, and the old lady, who understood they were of some value, though she had no idea to what extent, presented them to the clergyman, and asked him to sell them and devote the proceeds to the fund.
He sold them to a member of the Legislative Council of Demerara for £205, who in turn sent them to Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. The firm gave him £650 for the pair. He thus realised an immediate profit of £445.
But this was by no means the top price; within three weeks of their receipt Messrs. Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., resold them to a Bavarian dealer in Germany for £780, who immediately parted with them to a well-known Russian collector, who was in want of specimens, for £1,000.
One cannot help sympathising with the original finder. However, it is more than probable she is ignorant of their real value to this day.
PRICE UNUSED—£500.