Robert Murray Stamp Shop, Edinburgh Established 1977 Retail shop, auctioneers, mail order www.stamp-shop.com |
The
Penny Black
In 1840, the United Kingdom introduced the penny black,
the first adhesive postage stamp issued anywhere in the
world. Background History | James Chalmers | May 1840 | Basic Technical Matters | Corner Letters | Commercial Values | Site Links Background
History James
Chalmers May 1840
Basic
Technical Matters Corner
Letters There were 68,158,080 penny blacks issued (yes, 68 million !), and even with only a 2% survival rate, there are likely to be about 1.3 million still in existence. The survival rate may well be considerably higher than 2%, as it should be remembered that in 1840 the use of envelopes was unusual, most letters being written, folded, and sealed with sealing wax; this meant that whenever a letter was filed in a lawyer's office, bank, etc., the whole thing would be kept - letter and outer cover including the adhesive stamp. By the time these files were cleared years after it was already known that people collected these stamps and that they could be sold. Value depends generally on {1} the condition, {2} which plate the stamp was printed from, and {3} the overall appearance of the stamp. Aspects of condition; {a} physical condition - any fault such as a thin, tear, crease, or stain will lower the value, and {b} the number, size, and regularity of the margins make a big difference to value. The stamps were not perforated, and had to be separated using scissors or a knife. As there was only about 1mm between one stamp and another, it was very easy to stray just a little and cut into the printed design of the stamp. A stamp with two full margins and perhaps a couple of other part margins is about average. Collectors will pay higher prices for examples with four good, wide, and even margins. It can be dangerously misleading to suggest values, as some readers of this will be naturally optimistic, others being natural pessimists (or realists !). At any time we might have in our shop retail stock penny blacks as cheap as �20 each (in definitely poor condition), and as expensive as �250 (for one with particular unusual attributes). On average �30 to �50 will buy a "reasonable" penny black, while "nice" ones might cost �80 to �150. Mint examples are notably more valuable, and prices can vary enourmously for these. [NB our stocks vary much more quickly than this page, which is intended to be semi-permanent, so please do not order anything without checking with us first.] We hold public stamp auctions approximately monthly, and across the whole range, the average price for penny blacks sold there is probably roughly �35 each. Generally speaking, it is our experience that those penny blacks sold in special presentation folders, with certificates of authenticity, or marketed through the non-philatelic press, tend to be priced at well above market rates. |
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Page last updated Friday 4 December 2015.
Robert Murray Stamp Shop, Edinburgh Established 1977 Retail shop, auctioneers, mail order www.stamp-shop.com |