Penny Black Stamp Value
Here are the approximate values of the Penny Black Stamp:
Mint - $3500 - 6000 USD (source Wikipedia)
Unused - $3000 USD (souce Wikipedia
Used Good Condition - $150-200 USD (source EBay 2007)
Used Poor Condition - $10 USD (source Ebay 2007)
The value of a Penny Black Stamp depends heavily on these factors:
| Factor | Description |
| Condition | Is it in Mint, Unused, Good, or Poor condition? Prices vary greatly as you can see above. |
| Margins | Since stamps at that time were not perforated, they had to be cut by hand when bought. Therefore, the margins vary greatly from stamp to stamp. In general, the value of the stamp increases with wider, even margins. Two full ones is about average. Four wide, even ones should command a premium provided other things are equal. |
| Plate Of Printing | Since not all stamps printed on the same plate have survived equally, there are more stamps from certain plates than others. You can find the # of stamps printed on each plate on the Penny Black Rarity page.
As you can see, plate 11 is the scarest by far and is the most valuable. Which plate the stamp came from can be identified by things such as the positioning of the corner letters, which place the light is broken on the stamp, etc. which can be found in more technical literature. |
| Overall Appearnce Of The Stamp | Any kind of tears, stains, creases, etc. would lower the value of the stamp. |
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