The Penny Black

The Brits graced us with the first postage stamp in 1840. It was black, cost one penny, and bore the portrait of the young Queen Victoria. The stamp in this pic is the first one added to my collection. It is from plate 10, position I-I. There are a total of twelve plates that the blacks were printed from and each had 240 plate positions. Thus, a complete collection of penny blacks would comprise 2,880 stamps.

Since decent examples from plate 11 cost about $1,000 each, and those from the other plates start at about $100 each, I only need about half a million dollars to complete my collection! Anyone who wants to help me would be most welcome.