Top 5 Most Valuable British Stamps

Penny Red Plate 77

The Penny Red Plate 77 is considered Britain’s most valuable, this poor-quality plate was never meant for public release, making the few existing examples incredibly rare and expensive. It is considered the holy grail of philately; a single sheet was printed in 1864 from plate 77 and it was rejected due to poor alignment causing damage to the stamps.

 It is a dream find for collectors, which means serious collectors will pay anything for a chance to get their hands on due to its scarcity and legendary status. Even more legendary than the Penny Black.

The most recent example of the Penny Red Plate going to auction was in 2016 when the stamp fetched £495,000. And last year another version was listed for sale for £650,000.

King Edward VII 6d Pale Dull Purple

The 1904 Edward VII 6d Pale Dull Purple was withdrawn almost immediately after it was issued on March 14, 1904. It was issued on the same day that an official order withdrawing all official stamps from use.

It is believed that only 19 sheets of the stamps were ever produced, and all the sheets were destroyed when the official overprints were ceased.

Its most recent sale was for £400,000.

Penny Black

The Penny Black is the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. It was issued in the UK on May 6, 1840, but was quickly replaced by the Penny Red in 1841 because red cancellation marks were hard to see and could be removed, allowing for reuse.

The stamps that appear in good condition and are used can sell for anywhere from £40 to £400. But if you have a mint, well-margined example can sell for more than £1,250.

Suggested article: How to collect Penny Black stamps

Two Pence Blue

The Two Pence Blue was the world’s second official postage stamp. Officially, the stamps were valid for postage from the 6th of May 1840 – the same date as the Penny Black. These were intended for double rate letters. 

There was a second batch of printing in 1841, these had white lines added to the issue and are more common than the original 1840 printing, due to this their value lies around the £10-£100 mark.

The 1840 printing can be worth a significant amount more, always depending on the condition. Used copies can be worth anywhere between £100 and £300. Whereas an unused mint condition stamp or a rare variety can be worth thousands of pounds or more.

Brown Lilac 1884 1 Pound

The unique horizontal format of the Brown Lilac £1 caused a great stir at the time it was first issued in 1884. It was only in circulation for a short amount of time in 1884 as it was soon re-issued in a green colour due to concerns about photographic forgeries.

A used version of this stamp can be valued at anywhere between £400 to £3,000, depending on the postmark and overall condition. Mint condition stamps that are unused, especially in fine or superb condition, can have a value of £28,000 to over £32,000.

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