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

Penny Black

Realized at auction: $58,500, dated 2017-07-25. This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it.

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
2017-07-25

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, Penny Black is number 53 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 (6 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.