1984 Stamp Expected to Fetch $8.25M at Sotheby's Auction

Varieties

October 28th, 6:49am

London - Asharq Al-Awsat

A staff member points to the worlds first postage stamp at Sothebys in Hong Kong (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Sotheby's said it's auctioning the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, with a price estimate of $8.25 million. Dating from 1840, the item is "the earliest securely dated example of the first postage stamp," according to the auction house that will present it at its "Treasures" sale on December 7, according to Reuters. The adhesive stamp, which features a profile of Queen Victoria, is attached to a document dated April 10, 1840, from the archive of British postal service reformer Robert Wallace, a Scottish politician. The Penny Black, which introduced a flat rate, was used from May 6, 1840. Before that, the recipient paid the postage cost. "This is the first ever stamp, the precursor to all stamps, and unequivocally the most important piece of philatelic history to exist," Henry House, head of Sotheby's Treasures Sale, said in a statement. The stamp is one of three Penny Blacks believed to have survived from the very first sheet of printed stamps. The other two are part of the collection at the British Postal Museum.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3271491/1984-stamp-expected-fetch-825m-sothebys-auction