No. ONE “MAURITIUS BALL” COVER ORANGE-RED 1D POST OFFICE ISSUE Price: $11,940,000 A world record was established on June 26th, 2021, when the hammer came down at the German island against French forces in 1810. It remained a British Crown Colony until independence in 1968. Still auction house of Christophe part of the Commonwealth, Mauritius Gaertner. The 1847 Mauritius Ball was the fifth country in the world to Cover sold for the highest price ever issue postage stamps. The celebrated paid for a single philatelic item – Ball Cover is franked with the 1847 the incredible sum Mauritius #1, the first- of $11.94 million. (A ever British colonial total of the purchase issue. It is called the price of €8.1 million “Ball Cover” because plus buyer’s premium it once carried an of 23.8%.) It also invitation to a fancy marked the first time formal event hosted by a philatelic item Lady Elizabeth Gomm, (single stamp, block, wife of Mauritius’s or cover) had sold British Governor. for over $10 million. The ball was meant The price realized for to improve Anglo- this cover, one of the French relations on the stamp world’s greatest island. Lady Gomm postal rarities, was sent invitations to the more than double its A Mauritius Ball cover from the September 30th ball to pre-auction estimate. Only three of the precious covers Royal Philatelic Collection is shown on this 1978 Mauritius commemorative stamp. local recipients. Thus, only the name of the addressee (H. Adam are known. This is the only one in Esq. Jun’r) appears on the envelope – private hands. The two others reside with no address. Its postage is paid in the Royal Philatelic Collection of with the rare and legendary 1-pence Queen Elizabeth II and in the British orange-red “Post Office” stamp. The Library’s Tapling Collection. need for stamps to use on these very Mauritius lies in the Indian Ocean invitations may have even led to 1,200 miles off the southeast coast of their issue… Africa. Britain won the battle for the The 1-pence (1d) orange-red “Post
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