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| The Penny Black |
1. The Penny Black was the world's first official adhesive postage stamp. It was issued on 1st May, 1840 and in use from 6th May, 1840. However, in use for just over a year.
2. This world famous and much loved stamp features a portrait of the young Queen Victoria.
3. It was printed using the line engraved printing method from 11 plates numbered 1 to 11, although plate 1 deteriorated quickly and was repaired to such an extent that it is generally considered as two separate plates - 1a and 1b - making 12 plates in total.
4. The stamps were printed on large sheets each containing 240 stamps which were cut apart by scissors.
5. To prevent forgery, the stamps had small crown watermarks on the back and check letters in the bottom corners.
6. The letters were impressed by hand with a punch.
7. The letters were marked 'A' through 'T' horizontally on the plate and 'A' through 'L' vertically so 'AA' was found at the top left of the sheet and the final stamp position at the bottom right was 'TL'.
8. The Penny Black was initially cancelled by a red Maltese Cross cancellation however this was both difficult to see and easy to remove on a black stamp. After a brief period of using black ink cancellations the Penny Black was replaced by the Penny Red.
9. What had cost say 1 shillings and 1½ dime, suddenly cost a mere 1d, a drop of more than 92 per cent.
10. At the same time as the penny black, Hill launched prepaid / pre-stamped sheets ready for the user to write and fold, but the public preferred the gummed stamp for use with their own stationery.
11. The penny black was printed by Perkins Bacon in sheets of 240, 12 across the top x 20 deep. It featured a cameo portrait of Queen Victoria , taken from a picture painted when she was just 15.
12. The Penny Black started two precedents still holding today: that British stamps do not feature the name of the country unlike other stamps; and the monarch’s face appears facing to the left, as per the penny black.
13. May 6 was the official launch date of the stamp, but copies were delivered to Post Offices on May 1, and some jumped the gun, thus one cover exists with a cancellation date of May 1, and quite a few have been found with May 2, when they were not yet legal.
14. The penny black was only short-lived, as the red ink used to cancel the thing showed up poorly, and was easy to remove to allow the stamp to be reused, so the following year a penny red was issued, and more permanent black ink used to cancel it.
15. It is thought that well over a million penny blacks exist today in philately collections around the world, poor examples selling for just a few pounds, but rarer ones far more – mint examples from the rarest plate used, plate 11, would cost several thousand pounds.
9. What had cost say 1 shillings and 1½ dime, suddenly cost a mere 1d, a drop of more than 92 per cent.
10. At the same time as the penny black, Hill launched prepaid / pre-stamped sheets ready for the user to write and fold, but the public preferred the gummed stamp for use with their own stationery.
11. The penny black was printed by Perkins Bacon in sheets of 240, 12 across the top x 20 deep. It featured a cameo portrait of Queen Victoria , taken from a picture painted when she was just 15.
12. The Penny Black started two precedents still holding today: that British stamps do not feature the name of the country unlike other stamps; and the monarch’s face appears facing to the left, as per the penny black.
13. May 6 was the official launch date of the stamp, but copies were delivered to Post Offices on May 1, and some jumped the gun, thus one cover exists with a cancellation date of May 1, and quite a few have been found with May 2, when they were not yet legal.
14. The penny black was only short-lived, as the red ink used to cancel the thing showed up poorly, and was easy to remove to allow the stamp to be reused, so the following year a penny red was issued, and more permanent black ink used to cancel it.
15. It is thought that well over a million penny blacks exist today in philately collections around the world, poor examples selling for just a few pounds, but rarer ones far more – mint examples from the rarest plate used, plate 11, would cost several thousand pounds.
Sources: 1-8 http://www.pennyblack1840.com/facts/
9-15 http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=531
9-15 http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=531
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