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1868 3-cent stamp sells for more than $1M in NYC auction

NEW YORK (AP) – A rare 1868 U.S. postage stamp has sold for more than $1 million at a New York City auction.

The 3-cent, rose-colored “B Grill” stamp was among the highlights of a three-day Siegel Auction Galleries sale that ended Thursday, Oct. 30. The auction house says only three other known examples of the stamp remain.

“B Grill” refers to an embossed pattern in the stamp paper.

An anonymous buyer put in the winning bid of $1,035,000.

The auction also included one of stamp collecting’s most famous prizes, the so-called “Inverted Jenny” from 1918. The 24-cent American airmail stamp features a biplane accidentally printed upside-down. Only 100 of the red, white and blue stamps were printed.

Siegel says New Rochelle, N.Y., stamp dealer Harry Hagendorf bought the one auctioned on Thursday for $388,125.

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