First Postage Stamp - The Penny Black

How it all began, the invention of the first postage stamp known as the Penny Black has an interesting story, and it changed the world

[@johnnyrockets7214]

I am considering this as a hobby and you have shown me many aspects of it that make it extremely interesting. Thank you, VERY interesting video(s)!!!

[@ExploringStamps]

Glad you like the channel! Philately is a wonderful hobby that can take you through so many global topics and places. It's up to you to make what you want from it :) Thanks for watching!!

[@broedetbroedet9954]

I specialize in Nigerian stamps and I'm a member of The West Africa Study Circle - UK. Nice documentary on Penny Black.

[@flyguyinmotion]

Great job. Most informative. I've been collecting for over 50 years but still learned from this and other videos of yours.

[@ExploringStamps]

:D Awesome, thank you and thanks for watching!

[@STScott-qo4pw]

great vid. just seeing it now but what the heck. I think a penny (1 d) in 1840 might have been a bit of money: a man's wages for the day might be 5 d. nevertheless, you are correct - the postage stamp - an adhesive coupon to prove prepayment for a service - darned well did change the world. it forced postal systems to be more reliable as the public could now afford it and wanted a certain level of service. people could now stay in touch all their lives - a clerk in Calcutta could continue to "talk" to his family in New Brunswick. it took time but was doable and regular. must have been an incredible development.

[@stuarthudson3885]

Great video exploring stamps i am very fortunate enough that my great grandfather was one of the first postmaster generals of the London GPO when it first opened and i inherited a very scarce plate 9 mint 1840 1d black original gum cat £18,000+ sg cat 2016 as well as the much rarer 1840 2d blue in mint cat £40,000+ sg 2016 i find myself very fortunate to have these in my collection but would not sell them as they are part of my history cheers regards stewy Sheffield LONDON England 😀

[@ExploringStamps]

Whoa that awesome. Your Great Grandfather was a part of an important history, I would never be able to let go and sell those stamps. Hold onto them!! Thanks for watching Stewy!! :D

[@dog-so1vj]

Great video. I've had my stamp album since 1974 and I had no idea about the history of the worlds first postage stamps. I now own a small collection of penny blue and penny red stamps and covers. Thanks for the education.

[@ExploringStamps]

Excellent, I am glad that the video was helpful. Penny Reds and Blues are great to have in a collection, keep it growing! Thanks for watching :)

[@kgbstudio]

your face expression when asked to pay for the letter is gold :)

[@ExploringStamps]

😅

[@vdhduc]

I'm also a stamp collector especially GB stamps in Victorian era. This is really an interesting video that can help me introduce my hobby to my friends. Thank you.

[@ExploringStamps]

vdhduc glad you enjoyed, check out my KZbin channel for loads of other interesting stamp collecting videos. Thanks for watching 🙂

[@Smee86]

That was the best. Thank-you VERY much for explaining the 1st postage stamp to me/us. So Cool. 🌐🇦🇺

[@ClausDittrich]

Thx a million, great advocacy for our hobby. U are very good at presenting precisely what it's all about.

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you for the great feedback Claus! Glad you liked the video :)

[@Koobette]

Excellent! Very informative. Hope you make more.

[@kingcurry6594]

A very good, clear video. Thanks for posting it. In fact, the red cancelling ink was used first. It was replaced by black cancelling ink in Feb 1841, after trials in late 1840 in London. The red ink could be soaked off, hence the change to black ink. But the black ink didn't show up on black stamps, so the colour of the stamps was changed to red - hence the 1d Red. A fascinating part of the hobby is to find matching 1d Reds and 1d Blacks from the same plate. You could do that with the 1d black lettered SH which you show, which is from plate 9: indeed, I have a plate 9 1d Red lettered SH in my own collection. Finally, some of the printing plates were repaired as they wore out, so later stamps from some plates and positions are slightly different, known as "states". Some are extremely rare. One plate (plate 11) was only used for 2 days for an emergency printing in black, and these are very rare indeed. I only have 4 examples, but 2 were picked up on ebay undescribed as plate 11. The joy when you find one and get it for not a lot of money (one was £365 and the other £275) is considerable.

[@johngreen3543]

Thanks for expanding my knowledge about the penny black. In particular, the reason they discontinued its use after a short time

[@ExploringStamps]

Its fascinating, I briefly discuss it again in an upcoming video about cancels and postmarks.

[@AdamHegewald]

Well done! I have enjoyed every video about Philately you have produced. I would like to hear you say your name. You are helping teach new collectors and train up the current ones. I have collected since I was 5 in 1977 and a member of the Oregon Stamp society in 1990. I loved space stamps. I then changed my forte to pre 1950 stamps and concentrated on Germany in honor of my heritage. I would love to have you make a video on cataloging your stamp collections and what software or books you like to use as reference. Cheers!

[@OquistStamps]

Another super video. Cheers, Nik and Lisa

[@ExploringStamps]

Hi Nik & Lisa, glad you liked the video! thanks for watching :)

[@nudoleft1739]

Hello, thanks your video. This is so helpful to me! I am a guide of Postal Museum in Taiwan. When I learn about stamp' s knowledge, the senior colleague told me that the inventor of first stamp. Sometimes, when I told visitors whom from the Britain that who invented the first stamp, they said they are proud of that. I'd like to tell you that there is an another British played an important role in Chinese Postal History. ( Taiwan and China have many history in common) The British was Robert Hart.

[@ExploringStamps]

Robert Hart was very important in China’s stamp history. I might do a video about him soon. Glad that you like the video. Very cool that you are a guide for a postal museum in Taiwan 🇹🇼 👍. Thanks for watching.

[@ivansimonetto8957]

Thanks very much for this interesting video A lot of useful details which allow us (collectors) to learn more about UK stamps history I find your stamps the most attractive ones in the world 👍

[@devenderjain5352]

Explained in detail and beautifully.

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you 😊

[@lisalanger6842]

Thanks for this great video.

[@IIoveasl10]

Very nice video. I collect stamp s: Hong kong and China since 1997. I started in 1972 at the age of 8.

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you David! Since you are a collector, you might like some of my other episodes where I pull a stamp at random and discuss it for 5-6 minutes, I havent yet pulled a China or Hong Kong Stamp, but I am looking forward to discussing one in the future.

[@IIoveasl10]

With pleasure. Ill look for them . And I am am looking for discussions with you. I have "only 29 albums" because I stated in France at the age of 8, and at the age of 16, I moved to Los Angeles...so I miss 40 albums that I were there. Til next time, David

[@Smee86]

That is so cool.

[@willardtaylor6249]

Thank you for your very informative video about the world’s first postage stamps. I own two copies of the Penny Black stamp, one with the red cancel and one with the black cancel. I also have a two penny blue from 1840. It had to be a very laborious job cutting these stamps apart. My two penny blue has a small piece of the next stamp. The space between stamps in the sheet was very small.

[@LouisGedo]

Another great episode!

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you Louis :)

[@YassineYassine-fe3ws]

tanks a lot you read my mind i was waiting for this episode. merci beaucoup

[@ExploringStamps]

de rien! Of course, I knew you were waiting :) I will try to read your mind for future videos as well, haha thanks for watching!!

[@rgathergood2467]

Really interesting video, thank you.

[@rayanali7954]

I love your channel it's really interesting in your next video can wes see you pasting a stamp on an envelope again

[@paulozorzi7392]

Good job. Thank you Very much.

[@stelley08]

Interesting video, well done 😀👍

[@valentinbabuder6221]

Did you ever heard about Slovenian Lovrenc Košir (1804-1879), He was the first to officially propose postal stamps (tax postmarks), but Hapsburg Austria didn't go with it.

[@ExploringStamps]

Interesting! No I did not know about Lovrenc, I do know about James Chalmers who is also disputed as the original inventor of the stamp. Reading up about him, it seems that Lovrenc was the first with an actual stamp design, but James Chalmers may have had the idea before him, and only Rowland Hill was successful in getting it to be used and adopted. Thanks for sharing this :)

[@laurasimpson2870]

Wow that was interesting!

[@21sizeman]

Nice episode

[@gabrielscollection3910]

Wow this is a interesting video and now I will collect stamps this is so awsome

[@freudsigmund72]

In my collection I have a police report from 1867 from France for the use of a forged stamp (the actual cover is included as well). Funny to see how quickly that became a problem as well.

[@bella88ification]

Did u actually custom.made the maltese stamps for the video? Your effort is commendable

[@ExploringStamps]

I custom ordered them from a company in the US... rubberstamps.net very good quality and I have used them again for the exploring stamps logo as well

[@Jonahlight]

Thank you! I learnt a lot from this video!

[@ExploringStamps]

Great! Thank you for watching :)

[@tch4874]

Wow amazing video, thank you! ❤️

[@juanbautistavizcarra7460]

Mexicali stamp collecting is great video

[@ayaxbarruylle9730]

My friend i love your videos thenk for your greant wonk. I have a cuestion. Were can i get de compite shits od penny blak and penny red to printed in my house? Congratulation fom Chile. (Concepcion-chile)

[@lux1331]

I love this video

[@Jonahlight]

Greetings from Sri Lanka! I enjoy watching your interesting channel. Can you pls do a video on Ceylon stamps?

[@ExploringStamps]

Greetings and thank you for watching in Sri Lanka. There are some excellent Ceylon stamps that I would love to make videos about... maybe I will soon! :)

[@Jonahlight]

@@ExploringStamps Thank you! I love the way you present and the way you build the content! Interesting! Keep up the good work.

[@theelderscrollsnerd9066]

GREAT VID THANKS

[@clairemayes6218]

Where do you get a Maltese stamp like that , not the adhesive stamp but the stamp canceller

[@ExploringStamps]

I actually custom ordered it online. There are a number of companies that will take a design that you provide and turn it into a rubber stamp :)

[@frankauerbach]

what's the takeup rate for the fractional ownership of the weitzman shoe label?

[@michalinaskop7095]

Hello, greetings from Poland:) Very interesting piece of history.

[@ExploringStamps]

It sure is an interesting piece of history. Thank you for watching in Poland :)

[@dellaroscoe9496]

Exploring Stamps Hey...enjoying your series! Absolutely fascinating. Can I get your expertise on British Line Stamps?

[@dellaroscoe9496]

Let’s just say I bought a bag of line stamp rolls without knowing what they were. Took to a local antiquities dealer who was underwhelmed and dismissive. I can send you a photo!

[@NisargSutaria]

Awesome :-)

[@martinjalon4783]

Great, congratulation

[@LittleToyBonnie]

Do you know where the printout of the stamps are?

[@ToraTigerTigger]

I was employed at a stamp shop full time for a few years during the 1980s. I learnt that the reason why Penny Blacks & the first 2d Blues were replaced is because the ink used was too permanent. So the Maltese cross could be washed off & the stamp reused. The ink used on the replacement Penny Reds & 2d Blues with white bands would break up, ruining the stamp, if someone tried to wash off the Maltese Cross. Has this information changed? Because in this video you said the reason the Penny Black was replaced was due to the Maltese Cross not being clear enough. Just curious thanks.

[@benhancock8143]

What stamp stockbooks do you use in your videos?

[@ExploringStamps]

In my older videos I am using standard lighthouse stockbooks. My preference today is Vario stockbook pages (clear)

[@nelyndedel5826]

Stamp collecting is my favorate i was 10 years old

[@martysmith9759]

Did I just watch this guy counterfeit stamps?

[@irisunchained9881]

OMG! How did you get your hands on a penny black?

[@ExploringStamps]

Since they vary in price dramatically, you can get them for very low prices (under 100 USD) with no margins and slightly damaged, or you can spend hundreds on them for really great quality. Just make sure you purchase from a reputable source. :)

[@alchemysglobalsoftskills2948]

I have a good collection of postage stamps collected since 1965- 67 I would like to sell some of them which are originals with appropriate water marks. Please advise / suggest me the correct place to sell those stamps .

[@snarky_user]

The UPU allows the United Kingdom explicit exemption to the requirement of having the country's name displayed on their stamps in Latin letters out of respect for the fact that they were the first to issue postage stamps.

[@Jabarten]

Beware the added margins!!! oh gees....4 sides...all added. And it's not just not them, it's quite common in other imperforates from that era...

[@concepcionconcio2675]

May please know if you have Philippines stamp collections.

[@stephengibson4823]

Plate numbers were briefly mentioned in the video. The number is in the side border of the design. The Penny Red 1863 plate 77 was not considered of sufficient quality and was never issued and the plate was destroyed. However, a very few first run copies of the stamp escaped incineration. I believe there are about five known examples, one selling recently for nearly £500,000 ! To collectors it's like the Rembrandt painting found in grannies attic. There may be a copy in some long lost, or forgotten, childhood collection just awaiting discovery.

[@psarj]

The 1d Red stamps with the plate numbers engraved in the side borders did not appear until 1864. These stamps are easily distinguished as they have letters in all four corners, whereas the earlier 1d and 2d stamps had stars in the upper corners. Determining the printing plate (or "plating") of the 1d and 2d stamps issued earlier than 1864 is a whole subarea of British stamp study unto itself. Many books and resources have been published over the 180 years since these stamps first appeared. The stamp in the video was printed from Plate 9 of the 11 plates used for the 1d Black. This can be determined by the relative positions of the 'S' and 'H' check letters, and also by the Stage 2 'O' flaw, which appears between the base of the letters 'O' and 'N' in the word 'ONE'. In addition to the many books on the subject (such as "Guidelines to the Penny Black by P.C. Litchfield, pub 1949) the Great Britain Philatelic Society ( gbps.org.uk/ ) has 1d and 2d plating resources available online to it's members.

[@IIoveasl10]

Graham, I am working om my China album: Sun-Ya-Tsen and Mao Tsetoung.

[@giangvuha407]

How did you get that

[@coinscoffee4770]

Having to pay for mail or else it gets sent back?? Im down with that...

[@edwincheyne6435]

Very Well presented and informative. However quoting from Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Concise regarding the Red and Black Maltese Cross cancellations you are not right: "A red ink was FIRST employed , but was superseded by black, after some earlier experiments, in February 1941"

[@ExploringStamps]

I had to go back and re-watch that scene... and I never mean't to imply that black ink was used first, my apologies... just that it would not have worked on a black stamp and that it was the reason for using red ink instead, which as I state was easily washed off. But you are correct, they used black after the red was not doing its job.

[@shahinnavina5436]

You is a good philatelicer I love you 😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@shahinnavina5436]

Penny black stamp top

[@paulwhite2757]

I've come across stamps black but not penny happening help

[@paulwhite2757]

Halfpence

[@TsukiCondor]

Great video I'm a stamp collection from American 😄🇺🇸,I dont have the money to afford a penny black now but maybe some day

[@ExploringStamps]

The Penny Black is a special one to save up for, but totally worth it! Thanks for watching Tsuki!! :)

[@TsukiCondor]

Exploring Stamps Thanks :)

[@rayanali7954]

Why did you stamp those stamps

[@JulianCollects]

How much is a Penny Black?

[@ruslans2006]

Well, it depends on the quality. Penny Blacks without margins or that are damaged are slightly under 100 USD, but if you want a good quality penny black, then you will have to spend at least 300-400 USD. Blocks or strips can cost up to 1000+ USD. I saw on StanleyGibbons.com a block of 6 penny blacks. That cost £110,000. So yeah.

[@BEE-tq4wz]

Hi i got one of the Rare and unusual colonial Stamp of Australia a western postage Australia four pence...it a blue swan.

[@maxxxstrong4577]

A very erudite presentation.

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you :D

[@ashstubbings2603]

Nice accent you have there my friend! South Africa if I'm not mistaken? I can't tell you whereabouts in South Africa though! I'm not that good! LOL By the way, I used to think stamp collecting was a boring, and pretty pointless pastime! Not anymore!

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you, yep I’m a saffa 🇿🇦. Philately is an amazing hobby!

[@youtubemyday]

Hey. how old are you ?, you have amazing knowledge of philately and excellent video quality.

[@ExploringStamps]

Thank you! At the time I made this I was 31 or 32. :)

[@theelderscrollsnerd9066]

How would you be able to tell that a stamp is actually an original from a fake

[@ExploringStamps]

Good question! One thing that I do is look through examples of forgeries and compare: stampforgeries.com/forged-stamps-of-great-britain-queen-victoria/ . Of course make sure to purchase from a reputable store, but otherwise you could get the stamp appraised. If anyone else has advice/suggestions, please comment below.

[@theelderscrollsnerd9066]

ok thanks for that i will in a bit

[@peterforden5917]

tuppeny blue....

[@szymon2851]

Chciałbym mieć oryginała w swojej kolekcji. Każdy inny filatelista też😉😉

[@rogerturner1881]

in 2040 will be 200 years, i'll be 83..

[@peterforden5917]

NOT two pence but tuppeny in pronunciation it was never iin pre 1970 days two pence only afterwards before it was ALWAY'S ALWAY'S pronounced tuppeny or tuppence it really really grates on my 70 year old predecimal ears....echhhh :D

[@dgamal095]

👏👏👏👍🇩🇪

[@GPPS2013]

Please, speak 77 Penny red thanks.

[@mioszfilatelista5385]

Pozdrowienia z polski (poland)

[@robbmaier329]

Who would reuse a stamp that is worth 25 k

[@farkhundasyed4895]

Hi