Yesterday was the birthday of the first postage stamp

The stamp considered by most to be the first adhesive pre-paid countrywide postage stamp was issued on May 6, 1840, or 182 years ago yesterday (I thought that was today, but I hadn't yet corrected my watch date after the 30 days of April).

I knew the year, but not the date, which I just came across while reading a general book on stamp collecting that I recently purchased: Guide to Stamp Collecting, by Jiri Novacek, Chartwell Books, Inc., 1989, 224 pp.

The Penny Black (Warwick & Warwick;
not from my collection!)

As the story goes, in the late 1830s, Englishman Rowland Hill proposed to introduce stamps as we know them today. Until then, the posting of letters was paid by the recipient, based on the distance traveled and number of sheets of paper. On this date in 1840 the Post Office issued a black 1 penny stamp known as the Penny Black (duh) along with a blue version of the same design with a face value of twopence. The stamps did not bear the name of the issuing country, but carried an image of the queen (then a young Victoria), still true for British stamps. Postage rates became based on the weight of the letter, but remained uniform throughout Great Britain regardless of distance sent.

According to Warwick and Warwick Auctioneers, 68,808,000 Penny Blacks were printed; around 1.3 million still exist, a 2% survival rate. The value depends largely on physical condition, the printing plate used, and the appearance of the margins. You can buy a Penny Black on eBay starting at about $100, or you can buy a top notch version for tens of thousands of dollars. I don't think I'm gonna go there, though.

Graham Beck has a nice video post on the Penny Black in his YouTube channel Exploring Stamps: