What is a Penny Black Worth?
Penny Blacks can cost anywhere between $100-350 for an example in good condition. However, mint Penny Blacks may fetch upwards of $3000 at auction. Other than its condition, there are other factors that can affect the value of a Penny Black.
What is the most expensive Penny Black stamp?
The first Penny Black ever produced is being offered by Sotheby’s with an estimate of up to £6 million. This would match the world record for a stamp, set by the British Guiana 1c, which sold for $8.3 million (£6 million) this year and $9.5 million (£5.6 million) in 2014.
How many Penny Black stamps are there in the world?
A total of 286,700 sheets – containing 68,808,000 stamps – were made available and around 1.3 million are estimated to still exist.
Who is Penny Black?
The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system.
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Penny Black | |
---|---|
Printer | Perkins Bacon, London, UK |
Perforation | None |
Depicts | Queen Victoria |
Notability | World’s first adhesive postage stamp |
What makes a Penny Black Rare?
These are relatively rare as the stamps were printed in unperforated sheets, making versions with badly-cut margins all the more common and worth very little. Another trait to look out for is the plate number: the Penny Black was famously printed from 11 plates.
How can you tell if a Penny Black is real?
The detection method for Penny Blacks is to be able to tell the difference between engraved printing and lithography or typography. It is then important to be able to tell if a cancel has been removed, and to be able to detect faults and repairs.
Why is a Penny Black so rare?
The scarcest Penny Blacks are from printing plate 11, originally produced for the Penny Red, plate 11 was drafted in for an emergency printing in black of only 700 sheets. The Penny Black, although considered an icon of classic philately, was actually a failure.
Who owns the first Penny Black?
Alan Holyoake
The stamp’s original owner, Alan Holyoake, a businessman and philatelist, came into possession of the stamp around 10 years ago.
Why is the Penny Black Rare?
Even though over 68 million of these stamps were printed, the Penny Black is still a very rare collectable to come across. This is because the vast majority were thrown away at the time—stamp collecting as a hobby and passion did not yet exist.
What makes the Penny Black stamp valuable?
The Penny Black that’s due to go to auction at Sotheby’s is especially valuable because of its excellent condition and the fact that it’s one of just three surviving from plate 1a, the first printed sheet of Penny Blacks.
What is the rarest stamp?
British Guiana 1 Cent Magenta
British Guiana 1 Cent Magenta: $11,601,700
Known as the rarest stamp in the world, it was sold in 2014 to shoe designer Stuart Weitzman for $9.5 million, equivalent to $11,601,700 in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars.
How do you find the plate number on a Penny Black?
The plates can be identified because the corner letters were individually ‘punched’ into them and no two pairs of letters are in exactly the same positions in their corner squares.
What is the rarest stamp in the world?
British Guiana 1c Magenta
The rarest stamp in the world is returning to Britain for the first time in almost 150 years. The British Guiana 1c Magenta (1856), dubbed the “Mona Lisa of the stamp world”, is believed to be the most valuable man-made item.
What rare stamps are collectors looking for?
Three Rare and Valuable Collectible Stamps
- The Inverted Jenny, Source: Wikimedia Commons.
- 1847 5 Cent Benjamin Franklin Stamp, Source: Wikimedia Commons.
- 1851 Hawaiian Postage Stamp, Source: Wikimedia Commons.
How rare is a Penny Black stamp?
The Penny Black is not a rare stamp, there were over 68 million printed and it is estimated that approximately 5% still survive.
Why do stamp collectors know about the Penny Black?
In addition to being the first evidence of postage pre-payment, the Penny Black also rendered sending mail affordable and encouraged many to read and write. Prior to its release, it was normal for mail recipients to pay postage on delivery and be charged by the sheet and distance travelled.
How many Penny Black stamps are left?
What is the rarest US postage stamp?
USA 1868 1¢ Benjamin Franklin Z Grill – $3 million (£2.6m) The 1868 Benjamin Franklin Z Grill is the rarest and most valuable of all US postage stamps. This example, which belongs to storied collector William H. Gross and is listed in the Scott Catalogue for $3 million (£2.3m), is only one of two in existence.
How can you tell if a Penny Black stamp is real?
Is Penny Black Rare?
How do I know if my stamp collection is worth anything?
How to Determine Stamp Values
- Option 1: Find out the Stamp Values by Yourself. Identify the stamp.
- Option 2: Check out a Printed Reference.
- Option 3: Research the Stamp Values via the Internet.
- Option 4: Attend a Stamp Show.
- Option 5: Find out the Stamp Values via a knowledgeable Stamp Expert, Dealer or Appraiser.
What is the best way to sell a stamp collection?
9 ways to sell your stamp collection
- Stamp magazines. The reputable publication ‘Stamp Magazine’ (above) is available from larger newsagents and the classified advertising section will help you to locate dealers and collectors who offer a valuation service.
- Stamp fairs.
- Philatelic Traders Society.
- Sell at auction.
Is there an app to identify stamps value?
Stamp Identifier uses advanced image recognition technology to find that stamp and provide you more details about it, courtesy of colnect.com, a social network for worldwide collectors which has the world’s largest online stamp catalog.
Does anyone buy old stamp collections?
You can also sell your collection to a stamp auction house. However, their fees are upward of 40-50% of the sale price. Comparatively, many stamp dealers will consider 20-30% profit of the sale price. Some may even go as low as 10%, depending on how fast they can resell the material.
What are stamp collectors looking for?
In the United States, a collector may search for a few of the country’s original issued stamps, which date to 1847. If one hunts even further, they may find stamps that were produced in 1845 and 1847, as certain Postmasters distributed their own stamps or so-called Provisionals.