The livestock was sold at an auction of the Scandinavian Philatelic Frimärkshuset in Stockholm yesterday.

- What is known is there are only two such letters left with this stamp and this is the most beautiful, says CEO Johan Ericsson to TT.

The opening price was SEK 500,000 more than doubled before the club joined the table. The winning bid was SEK 1,050,000, for which commission is added.

Secret buyer

- I can't tell you anything about the buyer more than it's a private person, says Johan Ericsson.

The auction could not be held as usual due to virus restrictions. The bids were made by telephone.

The pen has previously been owned by, among others, the American big collector Lauson Stone and the Swedish business profile and billionaire Gustaf Douglas.

- The stamp has never been out in the open market before, but has been sold privately between different people, says Johan Ericsson.

Nothing to read

The blue four skilling banco brand adorns a letter addressed to "The High-Wives Mrs. Countess C: von Platen born De Geer, Stockholm".

It concerns Charlotta De Geer, married to the Count, Naval Army, Ambassador and Minister Baltzar von Platen (son of the famous Göta Canal builder of the same name).

- The letter contains nothing. The usual thing at that time was to fold a sheet of paper and put a seal on the back, says Johan Ericsson.

The letter was included in Sven Eric Beckeman's famous collection, consisting of thousands of stamps and hundreds of letters from 1855 to 1936. Following his death in 2018, the estate gave Scandinavian Filateli an assignment to auction the collection for a number of years, in accordance with Beckeman's wishes.