No, I did not find the second known copy of the British Guiana 1¢ Magenta. I found something better. Actually, this story is not about money. It is something more important than that.

I am a HUGE fan of Herman “Pat” Herst. I own and have read most of his books. Pat passed away in 1999. He was a down-to-earth person, one of the best-known stamp dealers, and a prolific philatelic writer. I exchanged some correspondence with Pat in the 1980s and 1990s. I have a few mementos from Pat in my odds and ends collection. Foolishly, I wish I had saved more of them.

In December 2016, I saw a listing on eBay for a nearly complete run of Herst’s Outbursts. I have his “Best of Herst’s Outbursts” compilation. I also own a handful of original Outbursts. This nearly complete set was offered at a price that was higher than I wanted to bid. It did not garner any bids.

I contacted the seller, explained my interest, and presented an offer to buy his lot. This was the first step in getting the snowball rolling.

It turns out that a prominent philatelist owns the material. He was downsizing some of his philatelic material.

I bought the nearly complete set of Herst’s Outburst’s and much more. The owner was a frequent corresponded with Pat and had a lot of original material from Pat. His accumulation included covers, local post stamps, clippings of articles by Pat and much, much more. Some of the artifacts came directly from Pat Herst himself.

In monetary value, this accumulation is not that significant. In terms of sentimental and historic value, this accumulation is priceless to me.

My philatelic mentor, Steve Pavlina, turned me on to Pat Herst many years ago. Steve was also a fan of Pat. Several of the Pat Herst books in my philatelic library came from Steve. If Steve were still here to enjoy this find, his smile would be a mile wide.

I struck gold. Not in money, but in enjoyment. Owning this accumulation of memorabilia from Pat Herst is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am lucky to make this connection and pass the material from the previous owner to me. I hope someday that I will be able to share it with another interested collector who has the same passion for philately as I do. I am forever indebted to my philatelic friend for his willingness to dispose of his accumulation of Herst material. He really made my day. I could say, “thank you,” every day and it would not be enough.

I am still pinching myself to make sure this is not a dream. This is a dream come true to me. Never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that I would one day add a large accumulation of original Pat Herst material to my collection and philatelic library.