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You may have read in the press recently about the huge demand for Penny Blacks in China since we visited in late 2010. We came away with an order for 10,000 from one customer alone. 

Issued on the 6th of this month in 1840 the Penny Black is the most iconic postage stamp in history; I suspect that 99% of those asked to name a famous stamp would say the Penny Black. 

Most stamp collectors like to own one even if they don’t collect Great British stamps. This kind of demand has meant that prices for Penny Blacks have consistently grown despite the fact that they are far from rare (over 68 million were printed).

But what most people don’t know is that a second version of the Penny Black was printed in 1840 but was never issued:

The V.R Official Penny Black

Intended purely for use by official government departments, the V.R Official Penny Black featured the letters ‘V’ and ‘R’ (the Latin initials for ‘Victoria Regina’ - Queen Victoria) in the top corners but was never issued, in fact nearly all were destroyed. 3471 sheets were printed but only 21 were saved of which 13 were sent to Somerset House to be used on circulars to postmasters.

One further sheet was sent to postmasters as a guide of what the new 1d Black issue would look like. 

You know where this is going. You don’t have to be a professor in economics to realise that the huge global demand for Penny Blacks coupled with the rarity of the V.R Official variety make these particular Penny Blacks immensely desirable. 

The figures reflect this. The catalogue value for a single unused example has shown growth of 300% over the past decade whilst used examples from the cancellation trials have gained a very healthy 133.33% in value.

Our Great Britain experts know all about the V.R Official and the importance of its place in British philatelic history. That is why they have scoured sales rooms around the world to acquire a selection of unused and used examples.

At the time of writing we have 3 investment grade examples: a very fine unused strip of three, signed on the reverse by Postmaster General and postal reformer Sir Rowland Hill, a pristine unmounted mint example and a very fine unused imprimatur; Imprimatur stamps are from the first sheet printed from an approved and finished printing plate, therefore making this example one of only 33 possible. 

Interested in diversifying into a portable, uncorrelated, safe haven asset? Call my team on 0845 026 7170 or email investment@stanleygibbons.com to acquire an exceptional piece of philatelic history today.