Stamp Collector John du Pont Dies in Prison

Delaware's News Journal and other papers around the country are reporting that John E. du Pont, 72, the eccentric multimillionaire and stamp collector who murdered an Olympic wrestler in 1996, has died in a Pennsylvania prison.

Du Pont was a great-great-grandson of the DuPont Co.'s founder and used his wealth to pursue a wide variety of interests including stamp collecting.

According to the article, "In 1980, du Pont bought one of the world's rarest postage stamps -- a one-cent stamp called the Black on Magenta, printed in British Guiana in 1856 -- for $935,000 at a Philadelphia auction. Several Internet sites of stamp collectors say the stamp is locked in a Philadelphia bank vault.'
 
Paul Fraser Collectibles estimates the stamp to be worth upwards of $5 million.

Shown above, John E. du Pont being escorted to a sheriff's car on Jan. 21, 1997, just before his trial for murder began.

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