The Penny Black Stamp Store: PB04: Crisp Detailing on a Rich Black Background, Very Nicely Cancelled

Tuesday 21 June 2011

PB04: Crisp Detailing on a Rich Black Background, Very Nicely Cancelled

Code PB04: SG2 / 1840 issued Penny Black 1d Black: 4 margins. Rich black backrop, showing a good contrast to the Queen Victoria profile, the K-H stamp would have been cut from nearly the middle of the stamp sheet. As observed from the stamp, the words POSTAGE and ONE PENNY are printed with a thicker bold text. The rich red Maltese Cross superbly contrasts with the black background, making this a stunning piece for any serious collector. This particular piece comes from a very much less encountered, if not scarce Plate 6. ~~£265.00~~ SOLD plus postage, shipped from the United Kingdom. A very nice and honest piece!

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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.