A rare British stamp fetched a record price at a recent New York auction.

A rare British stamp has fetched a record price of $9.5 million at a recent New York auction.

It’s called the 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, and last changed hands in 1980 when it was purchased by John DuPont. He acquired it for the historic amount of 935 thousand dollars.

"It is for its size and weight the most valuable item in the world." [Via ABC]

As the name implies, the stamp hails from British Guiana, a onetime South American colony, and has a face value of one cent.

The stamp is extremely rare and has been described by Sotheby’s, the house in charge of the auction, as the Holy Grail among the philatelist community.

Among the reasons for its scarce supply is that it was only printed and used briefly, as the usual postage wasn’t available.

A shipment of stamps coming from England was delayed, and the postmaster of the colony had a temporary supply printed up.

There were two inked on magenta paper in denominations of 1 and 4 cents. There was also a 4-cent stamp printed on blue stock.

The one-cent variety auctioned off is believed to be the only one of the run still in existence.