Penny Black

I am trying to figure out plate number or estimated value. Thanks

Plate 4... minimum value for a four margin stamp in fine condition would be around UK£150. GB letters highly desirable as it can be displayed as Great Britain 1.

Thank you scotzm

A bit off topic but why is it that I rarely see mint Penny Blacks for sale? At auction sites, and online dealers, they have lots of used copies available but very few mint. Are they hard to find or does nobody put them up for sale?

Catalog for $11,000- so yes much more pricey than used (CV $320).

Supply/Demand curve.

My understanding is that Penny Blacks are not exactly rare, but in demand, which is the reason for the high price. Is this true and if so, does it only apply to used copies?

From what I see it is the quality items that are in demand and command a premium over the rest. ebay, for example, has many 2 and even 3 margin Penny Blacks which are fast becoming "space-filler" ones as collectors with just a little knowledge see that the old saying "condition is everything" really does apply.

So what do you look for in a quality used Penny Black? I have one but it is pretty rough.

Even the Penny Black posted by nitrolures has "issues". If it had a slightly larger margin bottom left, no edge knock, and no "blemish" it would be a beautiful, beautiful stamp in my view.

https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...lack_opt.jpg

Reality and affordability dictates that the minimum I look for is 4 margins although 1 can be close but not cutting into the design, a cancellation that is not too heavy, clean paper. There are sub UK£100 Penny Blacks out there that look pretty decent and probably cost little more than double a "space-filler" quality one.

TomSwift,

I would suggest that this is an example of a nice penny black. 4 good, evenly balanced margins, the paper is not stained, the edges of the stamp are even and cleanly cut and the printed impression is clean and clear and the cancel is clear, clean and not overly obscuring of the stamp's image.

Larry

That's a nice looking stamp.

Can anyone answer my question though? Is a mint Penny Black rare or is the demand high? I am thinking of the situation of the Monkey stamp from China, which is not rare at all but the demand is extremely high, driving the price up. Everyone wants a copy of the first stamp so is that the reason for the high prices for mint and used copies?

When the penny black was issued as the first stamp, stamp collecting didn't exist so I guess nobody bought then for any other reason than to use for postage.

The 2014 Gibbons Part 1 prices mint Penny Blacks at £12,000 for Plates 1b, 2, 4 and 5 to £24,000 for Plate 10.

Unused Penny Blacks do seem to be in the minority but occasionally appear in auction house catalogs (the better items anyway). Mint Penny Blacks would be even rarer, I suspect due to already being in collections and only appear when a collection is being sold.
As already mentioned, it could be due to not too many people in 1840 keeping mint stamps around as there was no need to. The surge in letter writing would possibly mean that most of the Penny Black stamps printed (63.5 million) have been used for the intended purpose so that mint/unused became a rare item. Used stamps are reasonably common as many people in those days kept letters for years... especially businesses for record purposes.
There are loads of rubbish used Penny Blacks on many web sites at low prices (reflecting the quality) and any better ones are getting a premium which might indicate that a lot of quality stamps are already in collections.

Where would be the best place or auction site to get a good quality Penny Black?