Early Great Britain

Hi Yes Corner a bit of a small issue top left, hing mark on back almost four margins, the left margin a bit thin, but still traces of it. Gum looks ok to me. Otherwise sound example of a mint Penny Black. Lets just say this stamp is a good one for a collector who does not want to spend 16 thousand pounds for it. However I would think it at least worth 500 to 1000 pounds? Anyone agree?

Michael,

The only way to tell which plates are which is to have one of the plating books that are around. I have a copy of Nissin, which is the classic one for the penny black.

There is also a book by Mike Jackson for the blues, which I could do for you if you'd like. The penny reds is another story and I haven't got the plating resources for those ones.

I should also point out that there are specialists who focus on the various different versions and origins of the Maltese Cross but that is an area for which I'm totally out of my depth.

All of which is why, when dealing with a volume of quality of QV LE material to get at least two blind quotes.

Best,

Larry

Re plating of Penny Blacks.. these days I can manage to spot plate 1a and 1b but bad eyes make others pretty near impossible. You need a decent book or reference to get to know the plates. For "easy" ones like 1a and 1b the "ray flaws" (top left star) are normally all you need... but an expert can spot subtle differences that matter greatly.


This image is useful only as an basic illustration of what to look for.

Always get a second opinion anyway from an expert. It might make a vast difference to the selling/buying prices.

Hi London

Have you ever tried the Mulreasy group? They are specialists for the Penny Reds and Penny Blacks in there. Those plus the Mulready envelopes.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mulready/

Chimo

Bujutsu