The Penny Black Stamp Store: Buying on Ebay and Other Online Auction Sites

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Buying on Ebay and Other Online Auction Sites

Buying stamps online can be seen as a norm nowadays but here are 3 tips that you can take to minimise your risks:

1. Look at the seller's feedback or the auction houses reputation. Some background reading or a check will ensure that you are buying from a trustworthy source.
2. Is the description and photos clear? If the description is too vague, then make an effort to ask questions or request for a high resolution photo where you will have more time to study in detail. Never take the seller's word for the stamp coming from a certain plate. Study it well and refer to your books. You are getting for what you pay.
3. Pay with Paypal or with a credit card in case you have problems with the purchase and would like to open a dispute.

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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.