Lately, Steve Carell has been creeping out moviegoers with his portrayal of John E. Du Pont in the film Foxcatcher. Academy voters even gave him a Best Actor nomination, hoping it would make him go away and stop haunting their nightmares.
John E. Du Pont was an heir to the fortune of the American chemical company. Foxcatcher traces his obsession with the sport of wrestling, which so saw him go so far as to build a live-in training facility for some of the USA’s top wrestlers.
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t follow the Punk Philatelist?”
I don’t want to spoil the film’s twists, so let’s just say yada yada yada things didn’t quite work out and Du Pont died in 2010. I won’t even tell you where he died. It would give too much away.
You may not know that Du Pont’s death was met with much excitement among serious stamp collectors, because he was just as nuts for stamps. The world’s most valuable stamp, the 1856 1c British Guiana black-on-magenta, had not been on the market since Du Pont bought it in 1980 for $US 935,000 – then a record for a single stamp. In June last year it set a new record when it sold for $US 9.48 million.
Nice return on your investment, J Du P! Pity you were dead by then, and also pity about ALL THAT OTHER STUFF THAT I CAN’T MENTION IN CASE PEOPLE HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET.
In accordance with his will, and after a few unsuccessful legal challenges, 80% of that money went to a former Bulgarian wrestler now resident in the US, and 20% went to a wildlife fund that Du Pont established.
And why wouldn’t you pay that kind of money for this gorgeous hunk of philatelic perfection? They call it the Mona Lisa of stamps, which would be true if Mona Lisa was fugly, swam in sewerage pits and never took a bath. Small wonder that Du Pont, according to philatelic rumour, sometimes slept with it under his pillow.
For a tiny piece of dirty old paper, that price is admittedly insane, but British Commonwealth stamps naturally attract rich white men. Nuff said. Anyway, admit it, if you found the world’s only other example in your dead grandpa’s collection, your ethical disgust would be mitigated by a sudden conversion to the inherent worthiness of high-end collector market economics.
A quick beef from me at this point: this stamp is sometimes called ‘The world’s rarest stamp’, but that’s not entirely true. Plenty of other stamps are just as rare – i.e. only one known example. But the stamp world has celebrities too, and when a stamp becomes famous for being rare… ka-ching. Beef ends here.
(Nerd note: for more about that stamp and the auction, click here.)
Back to the creepy guy, and some other valuable stamps from Du Pont’s estate were auctioned in June 2014 by Swiss auction house David Feldman. Nearly every lot was won by Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, with a winning bid of $US 7.5 mill. The Sheikh plonked down an $872,000 deposit, and promptly died, befitting his reputation among auction houses as being something of a slow payer. Feldman still has the goods but it’s suing the Sheikh’s estate for the rest of the cash. IS THERE A DU PONT STAMP CURSE?
Let’s hope not, because have a look at this item I spotted in the catalogue for the Phoenix Auctions sale in Melbourne this coming Saturday, February 7. It’s a cover that was sent to Tattersalls in Tasmania in 1907. Can you read through the philatelic nerd gibberish to find the cool bit?
(Thanks to Phoenix for permission to use the scan.)
That last note before the estimate – “Ex Du Pont” – means that at some time it was in John Du Pont’s collection.
Yes – YOU can own something that once belonged to the eccentric multimillionaire and… WELL I REALLY WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT ELSE HE WAS BUT IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YOU WILL HATE ME.
Ideally, you‘d have a passing interest in Australian postal history, but if you’re excited enough by the connection to Hollywood glamour and to the notoriety connected to ARRRGGHHH THIS IS KILLING ME I’m sure Phoenix won’t mind you chucking in a bid. (See update below!)
It will set you back a few grand, but look at it this way. When you inevitably meet Steve’s Foxcatcher co-star Channing Tatum, you’ll have a handy conversation point with which to grab his attention, and then he won’t be able to resist your invitation to come back to your house to see it.
And John Du Pont will be smiling over you.
UPDATE: The Du Pont cover didn’t sell at auction. You could have picked it up after the auction for the bargain price of $1600 (plus buyer’s premium).
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© Philatelic product images remain the copyright of issuing postal administrations and successor authorities.
I thought stamp collecting went the way of tennis and macrame plant hangers.
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It was threatening to (although isn’t tennis still around)? But eBay gave it CPR as collectors worldwide could now chase down their obscure want lists without joining fusty old stamp clubs. And then there was a further development in the east, which you can read about here: https://punkphilatelist.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/riding-the-sheeps-back-or-is-it-a-goat-chinese-lunar-new-year/
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When was the last time Coke and Budweiser dropped several million in ads for Wimbledon? That’s how you know.
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Couldn’t have said it better myself. 🙂
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Who knew?
What an interesting post.
Just off to rummage in an old brown envelope in the top left hand drawer of the dresser, sure I saw some old stamps lurking….
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Why not? It worked for this person: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2945597/Rare-stamps-hidden-away-attic-100-years-set-fetch-250-000-auction.html
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Reblogged this on realestate4saleblog.
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Reblogged this on lellone.
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I’m beginner … visit my blog
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Reblogged this on enmeshedmum.
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Who knew that stamp collecting could be hazardous to your health? First Du Pont and then Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani (whew – try signing that name 10 times fast). Some say it’s a curse – others say it’s deadly spore dust clinging to the glue on the back of the stamp.
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Fascinating!! (I saw the movie so I know what happened 🙂 ) Thanks for this post.
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As a former philatelist I always thought the Penny Black was stamp Nirvana, but hey, what do I know. Great post though, now I want to see the film!
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Very nice! I should watch this movie! 🙂
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i like it
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Reblogged this on aimemi.
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Reblogged this on ZANGA WORLD.
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Reblogged this on marinegroup17.
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Wait, Mona Lisa wasn’t fugly? Also, don’t people have better things to do than have a stamp collection, perhaps, like maybe use that money to cure cancer or at least get a fucking pet, you know something that can add points to your overall well being and perhaps tally on years to your life. You are right though Steve Carrell is super creepy in those photos. Cheers! check out my blog at perfectchow48.wordpress.com
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Fun-to-read post. Thanks for your efforts to avoid spoilers as I haven’t yet seen the flick (but plan to thanks to you).
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Reblogged this on dipti three.
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Reblogged this on bestpretty7's Blog.
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Ur website is really good x
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Well his return on investment was pretty good, but only about 2 or 3 million more than if he put his 935,000 into a index fund on the DJIA. That went up well over 600% over the period.
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I love your line on what the Academy wishes Steve Carell would quit doing. 🙂 LOL! Very catchy. Great actor!
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its quite new for me to watch steve carell on a serious role…but he definitely nailed it!
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Hello, hello! I am no closer to being a philatelist than the fact that my mom was a postmaster after years of being a postal worker for several years. Also, I have not yet seen Foxcatcher. And yet…I read and enjoyed this post from start to finish. You did a nice job of bringing the whole thing together entertainingly and informatively. Being also brand new to the blog world, I am scanning many blogs and seeing what I like, what is done and overdone and generally trying to find a little community here. Congrats to you for being an eye-catcher with this one, and for holding the glance through the whole thing. I’ll certainly read more! I am more likely now to see the movie, though I hope you will not feel your writing fell short when I inform you that I will continue to respect philatelist’s business from well outside outside the bidding circles. Keep it up!
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Reblogged this on BRL MUSIC.
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I had to read more about DuPont after seeing the movie. The movie was great, but many unanswered questions lingered. I found a lot on youtube but not the stamp angle!
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Reblogged this on Cassi's Daily Dose and commented:
Great movie! I’d reccomend watching it whenever you have some free time!
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Punk Philatelist: your blog is superb–intelligent, fun, useful information. Stamps are a valuable part of material culture; thanks!
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Oh, thank you so much for your kind words! x
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Just read this and quite a story it was. I don’t have to see the movie, though, I live only 20km from his estate, where all the events happened, and it was the top local news story for ages. I’d probably driven past the scene before the events ever happened. Love your blog!
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Thank you! It looked pretty up your way.
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