World record for Australian stamp

According to The Australian, a stamp from Arthur Gray's "Kangaroo and Map" collection has set a new world record price for a single Australian stamp - $138,000.

Featuring a kangaroo inside a map of Australia, the stamps caused a stir when they were first printed because of the absence of a British monarch.

"At the end of the first day, Mr Gray had pocketed more than $3.57 million from the sale of 403 lots -- a massive return for a man who, like many of his generation, was introduced to stamp collecting by parents who thought it a good way for their child to learn about the world," the paper reports.

Gray is quoted in the article as saying, "I've been collecting these things for 50 years but you get to the point where you feel you should pass them on. I don't believe in stamps being locked away in museums, and in terms of awards, there's nothing more this collection could win."

Shown above in a Courier Mail photo, Shreves Philatelic Galleries owner Charles Shreves examines a selection of Gray's stamps which his firm auctioned.

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