1840 1d Penny Black Plate 5 Superb

The interesting copy of the world’s first postage stamp was sold today on Ebay. Its a famous Penny Black in mint condition from fifth plate. The stamp have 4 beautifully cut margins perfectly clean front and back. Lettered KI with pin sharp engraved detail. Pristine unused (as seller describe).

The Penny Black was sold for GBP 1,120.00. Its approximately US $1,785.78.

The Penny Black was printed from 11 plates, but as plate 1 was completely overhauled due to excessive wear, it is generally considered to be two separate plates, 1a and 1b. Plate 11 was intended originally solely for the new red stamps, but a small number were printed in black. These are very rare.

The stamps were printed in unperforated sheets, cut with scissors for sale.

The Penny Black is not a rare stamp, but very desired and valuable for collectors. The total print run was 286,700 sheets with 68,808,000 stamps and a substantial number of these have survived, largely because envelopes were not normally used: letters in the form of letter sheets were folded and sealed, with the stamp and the address on the obverse. If the letter was kept, the stamp survived.

The used Penny Black is readily available on the collectors’ market; a used stamp in poor condition can cost as little as £10 ($20); in 2000, a used stamp in fine condition cost about £110, an unused example about £1,600 , with prices steadily rising.