Penny Blacks - Show And Tell

I couldn't find a dedicated topic for Penny Blacks, so thought I would start one.

In reply to my introductory post a member said he would like to see my classics, so this seems like a good place to start.

I only have two on cover, this one I won recently and I have scans handy to share.

It bears a red Maltese Cross, not the best, but at least the stamp remains largely visible.

Struck on the reverse with a Bath Dec 1840 CDS. The first Penny Black recorded use is from Bath so I liked that link.

I found the addressee mentioned online, so have some research to do there.

i've read on more than one occation, that one penny black 4 margins often sell for £100 each.

this lot sold yesterday in denmark.

http://www.bruun-rasmussen.dk/sold-...&mode=detail

which had 2 one penny black with 4 margins and 2 closely cut.. seems like a decent price even after commissions?

Taking the liberty of pinching their image for discussion purposes.



650kr is about £80 according to XE : https://www.xe.com/currencyconverte...m=DKK&To=GBP

I'm guessing about £100 with fees then. Sorry my mind only works in £s !

None of them have a very distinct Maltese Cross (MX). Red MXs are generally more popular than black.

The left most stamp looks in nice condition and has what I would class as good margins (from what I learn from Stanley Gibbons' guide). The cut touches the bottom of the frame, so arguably only 3 margins. Everyone has their own idea about that!

Second from left is very messy and badly toned - the toning could possibly be helped by bathing it in warm water, but the cancel kills it for me.

Third from left is really only about 2 clear margins at a generous push, but you can see the design quite well - it does have surface faults though too and is toned as well.

Fourth one really has no margins.

This does not take into account the plate numbers of course, just eye appeal and condition.

Even so, I think the "CC" is nice and the others could likely sell for £20-30 each as space fillers - it's the kind of quality I observe on ebay for that kind of price.

I think I would pay about £60 (500kr) maybe a little more for the "CC" in auction.

Of course, we don't see the back view, so there could be pinholes, thins, tears, repairs etc.

So roughly speaking I don't think that the price paid is unusual really and like I said you have plate numbers that might make it more of a bargain.

These are just my own thoughts and interpretations.

GB

Have only one. It was in a Postal Commemorative Society booklet like this one






I removed the stamp from the book. Kept the stamp and tossed the book.









Can't say much about the condition of the stamp.

A few years ago a stamp dealer I frequent showed me a collection of Penny Blacks a family bought into his shop after the death of the owner of the collection. They were trying to get a value on the collection and wanted his help selling the stamps. The collection was massive. On cover, off cover, strips of multiples, etc... The dealer told me that years ago you could buy them very cheaply. I will have to ask the dealer next time I see him about that collection and if he had any luck disposing of it.

You did quite well getting 2+ margins from one of those packs - the quality is very variable.

Looks like a thin on the back, but with Penny Blacks it's just nice to own one too.

I bet that seller did pretty well, even a few years back. Multiples don't pop up anywhere near as frequently as singles - and of course there is a premium - same goes for covers, which is why I only have two covers!

GBstamper, thanks for sharing. I saw a similar cover on ebay recently with a penny black without the top margin, were you the winning bidder? I hope you got a good price for this.

Yes I bought it the other day, it was a Buy It Now

Here are my two copies. One purchased recently in a large collection. The other purchased last year in a Diabetes Donation auction. I'll have to pick up some others ... love this stamp.

Here's mine. I think the £16 price tag translated to US $30 when I bought it, sometime in the 1980s.

I like the grading ... Very Fair. 3 great margins on that last one, and a nice cancel.

Gettinold, did you really throw out the book? The book is probably worth more than the stamp that came with it.

This is my only Penny Black, bought some years ago, for a fair price, thanks to a good SCF friend.

Nice examples everyone :)

I have 5 Penny Blacks now. I acquired the first one more than 50 years ago when I was in my teens, and it has just been in the last 5 years that I have really been concentrating on GB stamps. I inherited a bit of money when my mother passed away and used some of it to buy a fabulous collection in a set of Schaubek hingeless albums. The collection included a Penny Black, so that was #2. Over the ensuing years I've attempted to fill in as many of the blank spaces as I could afford, but have also acquired some "extras" that the albums don't actually have spaces for, including the 4 Mulreadys, a few pre-stamp covers, a Bishop's mark, the complete plate number collection for the 1864 Penny Red (minus plate 77, of course), the complete set of 1876 Telegraph stamps, a few dozen of the ones with the letters in the corners that have my initials (including a Penny Black), then I acquired one more from another collection I bought, and finally the fifth one on a very nice 1841 cover.

I have two penny blacks; one an only just four margin, nothing to get excited about example and the other shown below:



It was in a GB postal history collection that I purchased earlier in the year. The stamp leaves a lot to be desired but I like the red MX and the 'MORE TO PAY' handstamp.

When I posted this several years ago, SCF member scotzm informed me that it was from plate 3 and that the position TA is an example of one of the stamps removed from the imprimatur sheet (although it is unlikely that this is the actual stamp).