One of three existing ball invitation envelopes stamped with an orange-red British Colony Mauritius post stamp issued in 1847 has been sold for a groundbreaking EUR 8.1 million in an auction in Germany.

It is the only one in private hands with the remaining two owned by the Queen and the British Library respectively.

The orange-red one penny stamp which depicts Queen Victoria and was one of the first two British Empire stamps to ever be produced outside Great Britain was sold for the record price in the Gartner Auction House in the city of Ludwigsburg in Germany.

With a price that reached EUR 8.1 million (GBP 6.9 million) the “1847 Mauritius 1d Ball Cover” is the most expensive envelope that has ever been auctioned worldwide.

The “Post Office” orange-red one penny stamp (1d) along with its deep blue two pence (2p) pair were engraved by England-born miniature painter Joseph Osmond Barnard who stowed away on a ship to Mauritius in 1838.

However, the stamps were issued until 11 years later in the then British Colony Mauritius on 21st September 1847.

Some of the 1d stamps were used on covers that contained invitations to a ball organised by Lady Gomm who was the wife of the Governor and according to the British Library only three such covers exist today, and are of the first importance in philately.

One of them was offered by a private owner under the name “1847 Mauritius 1d Ball Cover” on Saturday morning (26th June) for a starting price of EUR 4 Million (GBP 3.5 million) but was bought for EUR 8.1 Million (GBP 6.9 million) by a German speaker from Europe who wanted to remain anonymous.

Additionally, a total of four people placed bids at the auction whereas about 50 were personally present.

The previous owner who is a collector in Singapore said it was only with a heavy heart that he parted with the rare stamp and added: “I enjoyed every second of the prestigious Mauritius Ball Cover from 1847, but I felt that it was now time to pass it on to someone who is just as passionate and proud to own it.”

According to the auction house, the historically valuable envelope with the stamp only changes hands every few decades.

The two remaining copies are owned by Queen Elizabeth II and the British Library in London and the price for this one was reportedly so high because the other two are not for sale.