A rare Victorian stamp that should have been destroyed during the production process is set to become the most valuable single British stamp ever.
The Plate 77 Penny Red is for sale now at Paul Fraser Collectibles for £650,000.
Penny Reds were produced in huge numbers – around 21 billion – when they quickly replaced the Penny Black as Britain’s standard-issue stamp in 1841.
But Plate 77 stamps shouldn’t exist. During the approval process the plate was rejected, probably because the stamps didn’t line up correctly with the machine that stamped the perforations between them.
On December 12, 1864, plate 77 was defaced and put beyond use, and that should have been the end of the story.
However, somehow – and no-one is completely sure how – some stamps probably printed during the testing process made it out of Somerset House.
The stamp was first confirmed as a genuine, sought-after Plate 77 example soon after its discovery in 1920.
If one sheet was printed, as is most likely, then only 240 stamps can ever have existed.
It is one of these that is now set to realise the highest ever price for a single GB stamp.
Mike Hall, chief executive of Paul Fraser Collectibles, said: “This stamp is legendary among collectors because it shouldn’t exist. While most people know the Penny Black was the first stamp, it’s plate 77 Penny Reds that send collectors into a frenzy.”
This stamp, lettered PI, was used on an envelope posted in Highbury, North London alongside a 4d stamp.
When Plate 77 was used, printing plates were numbered, and the number of each plate was printed in the intricate scroll-work border of the stamp.
Since the stamps were first discovered, probably in the 1870s, in-the-know collectors have been scanning Penny Reds for the telltale numbers in the border.
At least one Plate 177 stamp has been misidentified as a 77. An expensive error.
There’s no doubting the authenticity of this example though. It comes with certificates of authenticity from British Phialtelic Association and the Royal Philatelic Society London and an extensive provenance dating back to 1920, when it was discovered by a Manchester stamp dealer.
It is also, according to Paul Fraser Collectibles, the finest quality example still in private hands.
In 2012, this example sold for £550,000.
Paul Fraser Collectibles said: “The legend of the elusive plate 77 makes it one of those philatelic greats and this is the only opportunity in the market to enjoy the ultimate privilege of owning it.”
