World’s rarest stamp that fetched above $8m going back to UK after 143 years

The world's rarest stamp, last sold for a staggering £6.2 million ($8.5m), is returning to Britain for the first time in 143 years, the Mirror reports.

The British Guiana 1c Magenta (1856), which has been described as "the Mona Lisa of the stamp world", was bought for 8.3 million US dollars (£6.2 million) by rare stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons at auction last month.

For nearly a century and a half, the stamp has been held in collections abroad, but it will now go on display at the Stanley Gibbons flagship store in central London.

Stanley Gibbons said gram for gram, the stamp is thought to be the most valuable man-made item in the world, around 2.5 million times more valuable than 24-carat gold.

Security surrounding the stamp is tight. It will be flown into Heathrow and met by an armoured truck, before being driven to the showroom, where it will be stored in a vault before going on display in a specially commissioned, zero-oxygen frame.