FLOAT
An unused imperforate block of four 1840 Penny Blacks (plate letters B-C, B-D, C-C, C-D), from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection - examples of the issue, not the first-day cover whose 2017 sale prices this constituent.

Penny Black

Maker
Great Britain (Royal Mail / Treasury)
Year
1840
Rank
6 of 100

Penny Black

Penny Black by Great Britain (Royal Mail / Treasury) (1840) is ranked 6 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $58,500 on 25 July 2017. The genesis of modern postage — the first adhesive stamp ever issued, foundational to the entire hobby.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The genesis of modern postage — the first adhesive stamp ever issued, foundational to the entire hobby.

1d black, Queen Victoria profile (Wyon City Medal), imperforate, SG 1-3; world's first adhesive prepaid postage stamp

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$58,500
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
25 July 2017

Spink London, 25 July 2017, lot 2137: a 6 May 1840 first-day cover (grey-black, large margins, red Maltese Cross) realized GBP 45,600 (~$58,500). NOTE: figure is for a premium FDC; common fine-used SG2 singles list ~GBP 1,000-1,500.

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