1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta (reverse). Loan from Stuart Weitzman.

Multiple markings on the reverse of the stamp testify to its provenance, or ownership history. They are listed here in the order they were applied:

• Circled trefoil (two strikes, one of them incomplete): Count Philipp von Ferrary
• Four-leaf clover and AH: Arthur Hind
• Seventeen-point star: Applied by Ann Hind to obscure her husband’s mark.
• Comet: Frederick T. Small
• Pencil initials FK: Finbar Kenny, manager of Macy’s stamp department, brokered the stamp’s sale to Frederick T. Small.
• Pencil initials IW: Irwin Weinberg and Associates
• Handwritten J.E.d.P.: John Eleuthère du Pont

[Photo Credit: Smithsonian's National Postal Museum]