1840 Blue Penny Plat 1 Or 2?

Hello all,

I've recently just added my first Blue Penny stamp to my collection and was trying to figure out which plate it was from? Given its a no lines added blue penny, the last issue date was February 1841, however I'm not sure how to determine the correct plate and if this is paramount to its value. Its a Scott 2 so either plate 1 or 2 if I'm correct?

Also, any help with the cancelation/obliteration is welcomed..

Thanks!

Hi there - this is a good stamp to have and the web has resources for Penny Black, Red and Blue. I have a strip of 5 of these and it's one of my favourite items. You probably could have seen the watermark by just holding the stamp up to a lamp. As far as plating, to the best of my knowledge, Plate 2 has a distinct spike at 12 o'clock on the left star, but not on the right one. It kind of angles up like someone's hair. You really have to scan at a high resolution and zoom in. The typical Maltese cross is to be expected for this period. A lot of collectors will shoot for good four margin examples with a black and a red cancel.

It's a 2d stamp, not a 1d stamp, by the way.