The Penny Black Stamp Store: Buying Penny Blacks from eBay

Friday 24 June 2011

Buying Penny Blacks from eBay

All in all, knowledge is power. Buy from a reputable source for a peace of mind. Here at Pennyblackstore, we offer stamps that are genuine and of high quality, assuring collectors stamps of value. The main problem when buying Penny Black stamps is that there are many forgeries on the market. For example, an expert forger can take a stamp and 'clean' it so that it appears to be in mint condition. Evidence of cleaning can only be confirmed by expert dealers such as Stanley Gibbons in London. Here are some tips to follow when buying Penny Black stamps on eBay:

1. If you buy from an auction, always make sure you have full contact details of the person who sold you the stamp.

2. Take it to an expert dealer for valuation if you are unsure.

3. Never bid for a stamp if the photograph looks vague or blurred or the wording of the listing is ambiguous.

4. Feedbacks scores are a good indicator of a sellers reliability, but be cautions. Some people selling stamps might not be aware themselves that they are selling forgeries.

5. Always pay with PayPal as this will allow you to open a dispute if a Penny Black stamp that you buy turns out to be a forgery. Once you supply a written description of the true nature of the stamp provided by an expert, PayPal will refund your money.

Source: http://www.pennyblackstamp.co.uk/buying_penny_black_stamps_on_ebay.html

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A Brief History

Before 1st May 1840, posting a letter was a very complicated and expensive affair. It could cost the equivalent of a days wage, and it was charged by how many sheets of paper were used and how far it had to travel. Normally the recipient had to pay the cost.

Sir Roland Hill was responsible for reforming the British postal system, and as part of this a competition was held for the public to design the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. However none of the entries were thought suitable, so instead they used the profile sketch of a then 15 year old Queen Victoria. This image was used on stamps until the end of her reign. Because the Penny Black was the first postage stamp in the world, it did not show a country of origin, and to this day British stamps are the only stamps in the world that do not state what country they are from.

However, the Penny Black only remained in circulation for a year, as it was soon found that it was possible to remove the ink of the red cancellation mark and re-use the stamp, so the Treasury switched to the Penny Red and black cancellation ink.