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A murder mystery.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

A London auction house next year is selling the Falkland Islands part of the collection of the late eccentric millionaire John du Pont.

The auctioneers call him, quote, "one of the most famous, award-winning collectors of the twentieth century," but YOU may recall him as the heir to the du Pont fortune who was convicted of murdering an Olympic wrestling coach in 1996.

There's no mystery about that, but where's the rest of du Pont's collection? Among his other valuables was the rarest stamp in the world, the British Guiana (gee-ANN-uh) one-cent magenta of 1856. His was the only copy ever found.

Du Pont used to exhibit it before the murder. While he was in prison, the rare stamps were kept in a bank vault.

But Du Pont died in prison two years ago, and there was a dispute over his will.

So who has the collection now? When will the rest of it go on the market? The London auctioneers either won't say or don't know.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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