I did have a couple of paragraphs of lead up to that, but honestly, if you're just here to find out what the most expensive object in the world by weight is, it's this stamp.

在引導到這個結論之前，我確實還有幾段要說的話，但老實說如果你點進來只是想知道以重量來說，世界上最昂貴的物品是什麼的話，那就是這張郵票。

There's now gonna be several diversions about why it should count as that, what the alternatives might be, and why it's that expensive.

我接下來要解釋為什麼它會是世上最昂貴的物品，還有什麼其他物品可以競逐這個位置，還有為什麼它會那麼貴。

But if you just clicked the video to find out the answer to the question in the title, it's this stamp.

但如果你點進來這部影片只是想知道標題的答案的話，那答案就是這張郵票。

$8.3 million for about forty milligrams.

僅僅 40 毫克便要價 830 萬美金。

The stamp's called the British Guiana one cent magenta.

這枚郵票稱作英屬圭亞那一分錢洋紅郵票。

It's the absolute pinnacle of rarity in stamp collecting.

在集郵界，它絕對是最稀有的郵票了。

It's not a variant. It's not a watermark variety. It's not a printing error.

它不是特殊變種。也沒有特殊浮水印變化。也不是印刷錯誤。

It's a straight, normal postage stamp of which only one survived, and that's what makes it unique.

它就是個平凡的，普通的郵票，但現今僅存一張，而這就是它之所以特別的原因。

So this was actually produced at the local printer office, so it was only ever intended to tide the colony over for a week or two.

實際上這是在圭亞那當地的印刷廠印製，因此本來的用途只是讓殖民地撐過一到兩星期的過渡時期而已。

This one-cent stamp also, it's believed, only paid a newspaper rate, which meant that they were used just to post newspapers locally, and newspapers, even back then, were immediately disposable.

這個一分錢郵票的費率被認為只足以提供寄送報紙之用，這代表它們主要只被用來寄送當地的報紙，而報紙即便在當時仍是會被直接看完就丟的消耗品。

There may be more expensive stuff by weight.

世界上還有其他以重量來計算的話更加昂貴的東西。

Antimatter is often called the most expensive stuff in the world, but I don't think that should count here for several reasons.

反物質常被稱為世界上最昂貴的東西，但我認為因為幾個理由，它無法被視為最昂貴的物品。

First, there's no way for anyone, no matter how wealthy they are, to buy a gram of antimatter in the shops or at auction.

首先，不論一個人多有錢，沒有人能從一個店裡或拍賣場上購買到哪怕一公克的反物質。

Second, substances aren't objects.

其次，物質並不是物品。

The English language has a distinction between "count nouns" and "mass nouns".

在英文中，「可屬名詞」與「物質名詞」是有明確差異的。

It's the difference between "there was a dog on the road" and "there was dog on the road".

「街上有一隻狗」和「街上有一灘狗」是有差別的。

There's probably a less gruesome way of explaining that, but I guarantee that's gonna stay in more people's heads.

或許有更好的方法來解釋這個概念，不過我相信這個說法可以讓大家印象深刻。

And the third reason: this stamp is non-fungible.

第三個原因則是：這個郵票是不可替代的。

Even if there was an antimatter shop just down the road...

就算街上真的有一家專賣反物質的店...

okay, let's let's go for something more realistic, but also very expensive.

好吧，我們用個更加現實，但同樣貴得離譜的例子好了。

Let's say there's a shop selling printer ink just down the road.

例如說街上有家專賣印表機墨水的店好了。

One gram of printer ink is the same as any other gram.

每公克的印表機墨水之間沒什麼不同。

They're fungible. If you switch them out, it doesn't matter.

它們是可替代的。把它們互相交換也無所謂。

This stamp is non-fungible, not just because it's the only one left, but because of its history.

這張郵票則無可替代，而這並不只是因為它是世界上僅存的唯一一張，更是因為它背後的歷史。

It's a unique object.

它是個獨特的物品。

The stamp was actually first discovered in 1873 by a 12-year-old schoolboy.

這張郵票最早在 1873 年由一名 12 歲的男童發現。

Now, at the time it would have been nothing unusual, because over time, multiple stamps of everything else were discovered.

在當時這並不是什麼稀罕的事情，畢竟每過一段時間，人們總會發現許多其他的郵票。

But this is the only stamp in British Commonwealth history where no other examples have ever turned up.

但這是唯一一張在整個大英國協的歷史中，再也沒有其他同樣的郵票出現的例子。

It passed through an increasingly prestigious list of the greatest names in philatelic history.

它在被易手的過程中，新主人在集郵界的名氣越來越有名。

Stanley Gibbons is the world's oldest stamp dealership.

Stanley Gibbons 是世界上最古老的郵票經銷商。

We have an auction house, two retail teams, and a coin company called Baldwins.

我們有個拍賣場、兩個經銷團隊以及一個名為 Baldwins 的硬幣公司。

Stanley Gibbons was lucky enough to purchase the stamp at auction in New York.

Stanley Gibbons 當時很幸運地在紐約的一場拍賣會上買到了這張郵票。

And now it's on display every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just for conservation and light reasons, but indefinitely here in an oxygen-free conservation case.

因應保存與光照的原因，現在它僅在每星期一、三、五展示出來，並被永久存放在這個無氧保存箱中。

This stamp has repeatedly set the record for most expensive, and every time it does, it adds another line to its already very long history.

這張郵票不斷創下最昂貴物品的紀錄，而每次它達成之後，便會為其已經相當長遠的歷史增添了更多故事。

It's expensive because it's rare.

它的昂貴來自於它的稀有。

Yes, there is only one of these in the world, and the way our society works, someone's got to own it.

沒錯，世界上僅此一張，而以人類社會的運作方式來說，總有人得擁有它。

But outside stamp collector circles, not many people would care about "the rarest stamp".

但除了集郵收藏家圈子以外，沒什麼人真的在乎什麼「最稀有的郵票」。

But to the wider world, it's famous because it's expensive, and more fame will likely make it more expensive.

但對於更廣的世界來說，它之所以知名的原因是因為它相當昂貴，而這樣的名聲則可能讓它的價格水漲船高。

And I guess I'm helping that cycle continue by making this video about it.

而我猜我藉由拍攝這個影片，實際上又幫助了這個循環繼續下去。

I wouldn't claim to know the company's motivations, but I'd suspect that it's on display to the public here,

我不會說我完全知曉這間公司這麼做的動機何在，但我懷疑這張郵票之所以在這裡公開展出，

at least in part, because the company is selling shares in it, and more fame will help it keep or raise its value.

至少有部分的原因是因為該公司正在販賣這張郵票的部分所有權，而它的名聲越高，便能幫助維持或抬升它的價值。

This is not an endorsement, by the way. I approached them about filming. They've not paid me. I have no desire to buy or sell a share in a stamp.

順帶一提，這次的影片並不是業配。我是主動接觸他們來拍影片的。他們沒有付錢給我。我也沒有興趣購買或是販賣一張郵票的部分所有權。

But if you want to challenge this for "the most expensive object in the world by weight", and take the very, very tiny crown,

不過如果你想要挑戰這個「以重量來說世界傷最貴的物品」名號，並且奪得這個非常、非常小巧的王冠的話，

well, the first step would be finding something even lighter than forty milligrams, but just as historic and just as non-fungible.

首先你得先找到一個比 40 毫克更輕，但是具有同等歷史意涵且無可替代的東西。

Good luck.

祝你好運。