1840 Penny Black T-G w/ Red Maltese Cross – Certified Presentation Collection + National Postal Museum Book

THE STAMP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD - AN EXTRAORDINARY PENNY BLACK PRESENTATION COLLECTION

Offered here is a remarkable collector’s presentation built around one of the most important objects in postal history: an original Great Britain 1840 Penny Black, widely recognized as the world’s first adhesive postage stamp issued for use in a public postal system.

This is far more compelling than a single loose stamp. The Penny Black is preserved in a handsome presentation portfolio and accompanied by “The Story of the Penny Black and its Contemporaries” by A. G. Rigo de Righi, Curator of The National Postal Museum, London, together with the original accompanying letter from The Excelsior Collectors Guild Ltd.

The stamp itself displays a striking red Maltese Cross cancellation, the classic cancellation associated with the earliest days of British prepaid postage. The lower corner check letters appear to read T–G, allowing the stamp to be associated with its original position on the printed sheet.

A small piece of paper that helped create the modern world.

Before 1840, postage was generally complicated and often paid by the recipient. Sir Rowland Hill’s postal reforms introduced a revolutionary idea: a simple, uniform postal rate that could be prepaid by attaching a stamp to the letter. The Penny Black became the physical symbol of that revolution.

It was officially placed into use on 6 May 1840, during the reign of the young Queen Victoria. Its famous portrait was based on an image of Victoria created from a medal design by William Wyon, and the engraved profile became one of the most recognizable designs in philately.

One fascinating feature of genuine Penny Blacks is that they did not have perforations. Each stamp had to be cut by hand from a sheet with scissors, which is why the margins surrounding individual surviving examples vary so dramatically.

Even the cancellation tells part of the story. Early Penny Blacks were normally cancelled with the elaborate Maltese Cross handstamp. The cancellation was initially applied in red ink, as seen on this example. Postal authorities later discovered that the red cancellation could sometimes be removed, creating the possibility of reuse. This contributed to the move toward black cancellation ink - and ultimately to the replacement of the black stamp itself by the Penny Red, where a black cancellation could be seen more clearly.

That makes the combination of a black 1840 stamp and visible red Maltese Cross one of the quintessential visual signatures of the birth of postage stamps.

Included in this collection

• 1840 Great Britain Penny Black
• Used example with prominent red Maltese Cross cancellation
• Lower corner letters appearing to be T–G
• Protective display capsule and presentation mount
• Bound presentation portfolio
• “The Story of the Penny Black and its Contemporaries”
• Book authored by A. G. Rigo de Righi, identified on the cover as Curator of The National Postal Museum, London
• Original accompanying Excelsior Collectors Guild Ltd. letter
• Letter states that the stamp was examined and certified as genuine by noted British philatelic expert Leon Norman Williams
• An unusually complete, display-ready historical ensemble

Why this example stands out

Many Penny Blacks encountered today are offered simply as individual stamps in dealer cards or plastic sleeves. This example tells the entire story. The stamp, early postal-history cancellation, museum publication, presentation materials and accompanying documentation combine into a collection that can be displayed and appreciated even by someone who has never collected stamps.

It represents a turning point when communication ceased to be primarily a privilege of distance and wealth and began moving toward the inexpensive, prepaid system we take for granted today.

The Penny Black lasted only a short time as Britain’s principal one-penny stamp—but the idea it introduced conquered the world.

This would make an exceptional centerpiece for a collection devoted to:

Great Britain • Queen Victoria • Penny Black • Classic Philately • Postal History • Victorian History • Firsts in History • Communications History • Museum & Historical Displays

Condition

Please study all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description. The stamp is used and shows the characteristics expected of a postage stamp approaching two centuries of age. Cancellation, margins, paper, mounting/presentation materials and accompanying documents should all be judged from the supplied high-resolution photographs.

The accompanying letter makes specific statements regarding prior examination/authentication; these statements are being represented as part of the accompanying documentation, rather than as a new independent certification by the seller.