King Carol II of Romania was also known as 'The Playboy King'. His private life was scandalous and it outraged even the most loyal partisans of the monarchy.
Talk of illegitimate children and secret marriages were rife until his exile in 1940.
In a train laden with Royal Treasure, King Carol left Romania.
The train contained paintings by Old Masters – Titians, Rubens, even Rembrandts.
There were also hundreds of other priceless canvasses, jewels and even the armour that had decorated the walls of the Royal Palaces.
And of course, there was King Carol's prized stamp collection. It was one of the world's most valuable at the time.
A death squad of Iron Guard Legionnaires (partly financed by the Nazis) fired fiercely on the Royal Train near the Yugoslavian border, but failed to stop it. The King and his mistress lay on the floor and escaped injury from the bullets.
A few years ago one of King Carol's stamps turned up at a London auction and sold for almost £60,000, smashing the Stanley Gibbons (LON:SGI) catalogue price at the time.
Now one has made it onto our books. It's a very special stamp.
As our esteemed Directory of Philately, Dr Philip Kinns says it is one of the great British Empire errors.
Issued in Jamaica in 1919, I'm guessing you can spot the error which makes this particular example so special…
This is known as a 'frame inverted' error. It's taken from the lower left corner of a sheet with full margins, which clearly show the watermark direction from the face (proving that it is the frame that is inverted).
Dr Kinns describes it as "arguably the finest single example extant, being much fresher than usually found, and especially spectacular and desirable in this positional form."
It really is one of the most remarkable British Empire errors, of which less than twenty survive in unused condition.
Unsurprisingly, given the pedigree of the stamp, the investment performance is very strong. Catalogued at £20,000 in 2005, the stamp has since grown in value by 63% to give it a price today of £32,500.
King Carol knew about the value of rare stamps – he sold part of his famous collection when exiled in Mexico to raise funds for his marriage to his mistress.
I'm not suggesting you use your stamp portfolio to fund such salacious activity, but rare stamps can offer you a store of wealth unlike many other investments.
Why not start today with this remarkable error from one of the most famous collections ever assembled?
It can be yours for £32,500.
Keith Heddle - Investment Director - Stanley Gibbons Group Plc
Call our investment team today on 0845 026 7170. You can also email us on investment@stanleygibbons.com.