Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black)
- Maker
- Province of Canada
- Year
- 1851
- Rank
- 49 of 100
Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black)
Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black) by Province of Canada (1851) is ranked 49 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $740,625 on 8 March 2024. Canada's most famous classic and one of the world's great rarities — only a tiny fraction of the ~150 issued survive mint.
What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?
Canada's most famous classic and one of the world's great rarities — only a tiny fraction of the ~150 issued survive mint.
SG 5 (Scott 3), 12d black Queen Victoria on laid paper, imperforate; mint pair with original gum; only ~150 issued
What is the best-sourced number for it?
- Figure
- $740,625
- Kind
- Realized at auction
- Date
- 8 March 2024
Eastern Auctions, 8 Mar 2024: mint pair with o.g., $740,625 incl. premium ($625,000 hammer) — a Canadian auction record, 'one of three known pairs.' NOTE: figure is for a mint pair; a single mint copy made $225,000 in 2013.
This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.
How this is made
- The figure
- One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- Why no grade ladder
- Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
- Archive
- 2026-08-08