World's First-Ever Stamp To Be Auctioned

The world's first-ever stamp will go up for auction in a few weeks' time.

Photo Insert: The Penny Black

An unused Penny Black is part of a document that's expected to sell for between €4 and 7 million, according to a Euronews report written by Shannon McDonagh. The Penny Black was the world's first stamp - and this one is from the very first sheet of them ever printed.

It's part of a paper known as The Wallace Document, which came from the scrapbook of leading British postal reformer, MP Robert Wallace. There are believed to be only two other examples of perfect, ungummed Penny Blacks from the first printing, both in the collection of the British Postal Museum.

The Wallace Document is owned by philatelist and businessman Alan Holyoake. It was created in 1840 but is still in absolutely pristine condition. As one of the world's leading stamp collectors, he's seen many rare items in his time. But for him, this one is extra special.

"It is a world icon," he says. "A stamp that came from the very first sheet of stamps that were printed."

Holyoake bought the Wallace Document ten years ago for less than £50,000 (€59,368).

At the time, rumors circulated that the stamp was one of the first Penny Blacks ever printed.

But it took three years of painstaking research to prove that was true and get official authentication from The Royal Philatelic Society, London, and the British Philatelic Association. That certification has raised its value significantly.

And a recent stamp sale has stoked Holyoake's hopes that The Wallace Document will fetch a record-breaking price when it's auctioned later this year. Earlier this year, Sotheby's auctioned a British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp for over €7 million.

"The value that's being put at the moment for the auction of the Wallace Document is in sterling between four and six million. So, it's a bit different to the price I paid," he explains.

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