Great Britain 1840 2d Master Die Proof of the Accepted Die

Master die proof of the accepted die for the 1840 2d blue.

Only 6 examples have been recorded of which at least two are unavailable to collectors. 

A major exhibition rarity of historical significance which has graced some of the most important collections of British stamps ever assembled.

This is an opportunity to own a true philatelic treasure from the earliest days of the use of postage stamp.

Many people have heard of the worlds first stamp - the ‘Penny Black’ but very few are aware of its much rarer cousin - the Two Penny (or Tupenny) Blue. Whilst it is right that the Penny Black is the worlds most famous stamp the Two Penny Blue is much rarer and more valuable. In total 68 Million Penny Blacks were printed versus only 6.5 Million Two Penny Blues.

In the 1830’s there was serious need for postal reform in the United Kingdom. One of the major obstacles to overcome was that postage was paid for by the receiver and not the sender, a system that led to heavy losses as many recipients would simply refuse to pay and all the time and energy had been wasted. The existing system was also complex and unruly - the cost included variables such as distance and number of pages posted (because of the latter envelopes were rarely used as it added to the cost so a letter was simply folded over and sealed). The simplest solution to this was for the post office to implement a robust system of uniform prepaid postage - the idea for the ‘postage stamp’ was born.

The driving force behind this was a man named Rowland Hill who wrote extensively on postal reform in the belief that if the system was cheaper more people would use it and profits would increase. After a national competition in 1839 Rowland Hill rejected all of the designs in favour of his own - a concept he had devised in 1837 for “a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash…”.

On the 6th May of 1840 the modern postal system was born. The 1 Pence and 2 Pence stamps themselves were released on the 1st May but were not eligible for use until the 6th (though the Two Penny Blue wasn’t available until the 8th). This ushered in a communications revolution that has been likened to how email has revolutionised communication in the 21st Century.

The earliest stamps such as this were of a simple design using Queen Victorias profile and the stated postage value. As Great Britain was the first country to issue stamps there was not need to put the country name on them - a feature that is still unique in the world of stamps to this day as all other countries put their name on a stamp whereas the United Kingdom just uses the Monarch.

GUIDE PRICE POA

1840 2d Blue Master Die Proof the accepted die. SG DP4

Superb example printed in black on India paper with blank lower corner squares and engraved "Stars" in upper corners. A couple of light wrinkles of no importance and not detracting from this major philatelic world rarity.

Provenance.

Colonel Bates, Hassan Shaida and Pichai Buranasombati. Ex. Mayflower. 

1995 BPA Cert.

We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.