Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black)
- Maker
- Province of Canada
- Year
- 1851
- Rank
- 49 of 100
- Identifier
- SG 5 (Scott 3), 12d black Queen Victoria on laid paper, imperforate; mint pair with original gum; only ~150 issued
Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black)
Realized at auction: $740,625, dated 2024-03-08. This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it.
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
- 2024-03-08
A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.
By reference price, Canada 1851 '12d Black' (Twelve Penny Black) is number 20 of 99 in the stamps entries of the FLOAT 100. 75 of those 99 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (49 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
How this is made
- The figure
- One reference price, 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
Track your own
FLOAT is a free tracker. Add the stamps you own, keep photos and certificates with each item, and see a value built from real sales at your item's grade. This page is a public reference; it does not offer, price or sell insurance.