FLOAT
An unused imperforate block of four 1840 Two Penny Blues (plate letters M-E, M-F, N-E, N-F), from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection - examples of the first-state issue without white lines.
An unused imperforate block of four 1840 Two Penny Blues (plate letters M-E, M-F, N-E, N-F), from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection - examples of the first-state issue without white lines.

Two Penny Blue

Maker
Great Britain (Royal Mail)
Year
1840
Rank
7 of 100
Identifier
2d blue, Queen Victoria, imperforate, no white lines (first state), SG 5; very fine unused with large part o.g.

Two Penny Blue

Price-guide value, not a sale: $48,700, dated 2026-01-01. This is not a sale. It is what the market was asking, and no transaction is recorded behind it.

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

The companion to the Penny Black and the world's second adhesive stamp — markedly rarer, especially in sound four-margin condition.

2d blue, Queen Victoria, imperforate, no white lines (first state), SG 5; very fine unused with large part o.g.

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$48,700
Kind
Price-guide value, not a sale
Date
2026-01-01

A price-guide value is an editorial estimate, not a transaction. Guides lag the market and smooth over grade and condition. It is useful as a floor for how the trade thought about the object, and it should be checked against a realized sale before anything rests on it.

By reference price, Two Penny Blue is number 57 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 (7 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.