Would You Pay Usd280k For Half A Stamp?

This stamp was auctioned some time back for HKD2.19 million but what was fascinating is the bidder paid for only half a stamp. I can understand if the stamp was bisected and used on a cover, but this is a single stamp neatly cut in two. Most would consider half a stamp to be worthless, but not in this case.

The stamp was the 1967 unissued 40th Anniversary of Establishment of Jing Gangshan Revolutionary Base 8f.

Chairman Mao & Lin Biao were depicted on a podium overlooking Tien An Men Square in Beijing.

Sold was the right half of the stamp, popularly known as the "Big Blue Sky", this stamp was intended to be part of a set to be issued in September 1967.

This stamp was never issued and was used to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Chairman Mao's and his Autumn Harvest Army joining forces at Jing Gangshan in October 1927.

Would you pay good money for half a stamp even if it was a rare stamp?

2.19mil H.K. dollars is only $371,400 us dollars. No I would not pay that for that 1/2 a stamp issue. But obviously someone that is wealthy can afford it. Hope they enjoy it!

Eastern stamp auctions from New Brunswick,Canada had a collection of Chinese stamps from that era up for sale last year. It was one mans personal collection and all were mint never hinged and the collection went for astronomical prices.

Stamps of the 1960's and 70's that very few were collecting, because as we still hear today- "they will never be worth anything". You just never know.

I am always fascinated by stamps from the cultural Revolution period, especially with chairman mao on them. It is either you love or hate that guy, coz after all he did cause China to go back 50 years.

To me, the strangest part of this story is that the "winner" had to outbid others for the privilege of paying $371,000 US for a stamp fragment.

Sales like this sometimes make me wonder what a quarter of a one cent magenta would be worth if the owner was crazy enough to cut the stamp into 4 parts.

do you have a link to the auction result?
I only found this one and there it did not sell:
http://www.interasia-auctions.com/c...ng=1&sale=31

and are there any stamps of this that are not cut in pieces?

The sale was reported in China Daily...I have not seen a complete of this stamp, there should be one I believe.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchi..._9411830.htm

quite often chinese bidders, and it's on purpose that I can don't call them buyers, never actually pay what they bid.

Think they have a knack for driving up the market, just like how they single handedly drove up French wine prices a few decades ago.