Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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How fun to see the enthusiasm of a newer collector! Thanks for sharing - you made me smile!
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08:54:13am
I have a Penny Black but not a Penny Red. I did look for one a long time ago, but I'm picky. I also prefer MNH stamps, so I'm not a fan of large, obliterating cancels. If you are purchasing your online, could you please PM me as to where you found it and what your experience has been with the seller? I'm very happy for you! 
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Here is my penny red. It is not the best one around but for free I like it.
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Congrats on your new penny red!
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What a beautiful stamp and the price makes it even more beautiful. That one is centered very nicely, a plate 121, I'd put that in my album any day. Good score!
Mike
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With a nice clear postmark from Halifax in Yorkshire.
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Thank you all for the info on it. I didn't know anything about it other then it was a Penny Red. That makes it more special to me. Now what I was wondering is, the stamp has a hinge on it. Should I soak it off or just leave the hinge on?
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Congratulations on your Penny Red!
Soak it in warm water until the hinge remnant floats off, and then I'd give it a good rinse with two or three changes of water. Blot it with paper towel or a clean cotton towel and let it air dry for a while, then sandwich it between a couple of pieces of white paper, and put the "sandwich" in a book with a couple of other books on top (enough to press it flat). I've pressed lots of stamps between the pages of old paperbacks and never had a problem.
Something I would do if it were my stamp is add two or three drops of dishwashing detergent to the initial soak. The stamp is a bit dirty, and might look better after the detergent treatment. You can safely (and gently!) rub the stamp to help remove dirt. (No doubt other members will disagree with the detergent idea, but I've done it many times over many years without the slightest suggestion of a problem.)
Note that there are a few stamps, notably some G.B. stamps (not the Penny Red) that have "fugitive" (water soluble) aniline ink that will wash right off the stamp if you soak them. Catalogues should note the use of such ink.
Bob
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Hi carabop;
What fantastic centering on your stamp!
Most stamps of that period were placed too close together on the printing plate. As a result they usually all have bad centering.
Scott's catalog even has a note about centering. It states that stamps with perforation holes clear of the design on four sides are rare and command a hefty premium. Yours appears to have clearance on top-bottom-left, and barely touching but not removing part of the design on the right side. 
Awesome!
Altho your cancel is rather dark, it still does not obscure the beauty of this great stamp. And because the entire number "330" is visible nigelc was able to identify that it was canceled in Halifax, in Yorkshire. There is a web page out there somewhere that identifies all of those early period killers by the post office that used them.
I agree with bobstamp on cleaning that stamp, with a emphasis on his use of the word gently!!
Keep on stampin'....
TuskenRaider
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I washed the stamp and it is drying now. The stamp had 3 hinges on it and if you look again you will see what I found after washing the stamp, there is a tear in the upper left corner. Hinges cover up so much. It is still a nice stamp and the price makes it all worth while. I am going to keep my eye out for another to add to this stamp. I love the Penny Red.
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@Carabop — I'm glad that the stamp washing worked out for you. Too bad about the tear — all of us have had similar experiences. It's bad enough to discover such a problem after buying the stamp (although most dealers allow returns of such stamps if the problem was not obvious in the image and description. Worse is when you decide to buy a stamp with known problems, and then regret it! I have a German airmail stamp that's beautiful except for a small, hardly noticeable cut in the top margin. I got it at a big discount, but it was still several dollars, and I've never enjoyed having it.
Anyway, you said you'd like to find more Penny Reds. If you save your pennies, you could consider buying this old, old lifetime collection in custom-made albums, currently being offered by Weeda Stamps in Victoria, BC, for only US $49,999! It's not a joke or a scam. Weed Stamps has been a philatelic institution here in BC for decades. The current co-owners, Beverly Fox and Andrew Blanchard, are serious philatelists who normally offer mostly hi-end Canadiana and some U.S./worldwide material. However, this is the most expensive item I've ever seen in their offerings.
Bob
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10:16:13pm
I will get my chance at getting a Penny Red tomorrow. I know it may not seem like much but I like the stamp. One day I may even be able to have a Penny Black. Even though my main collection is USA MNH there are a few other stamps I like and would like to have. And this being one of them.
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re: I'm kinda of excited
How fun to see the enthusiasm of a newer collector! Thanks for sharing - you made me smile!
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
02 Jan 2016
08:54:13am
re: I'm kinda of excited
I have a Penny Black but not a Penny Red. I did look for one a long time ago, but I'm picky. I also prefer MNH stamps, so I'm not a fan of large, obliterating cancels. If you are purchasing your online, could you please PM me as to where you found it and what your experience has been with the seller? I'm very happy for you!
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06:30:05pm
re: I'm kinda of excited
Here is my penny red. It is not the best one around but for free I like it.
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re: I'm kinda of excited
Congrats on your new penny red!
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re: I'm kinda of excited
What a beautiful stamp and the price makes it even more beautiful. That one is centered very nicely, a plate 121, I'd put that in my album any day. Good score!
Mike
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re: I'm kinda of excited
With a nice clear postmark from Halifax in Yorkshire.
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10:06:22pm
re: I'm kinda of excited
Thank you all for the info on it. I didn't know anything about it other then it was a Penny Red. That makes it more special to me. Now what I was wondering is, the stamp has a hinge on it. Should I soak it off or just leave the hinge on?
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re: I'm kinda of excited
Congratulations on your Penny Red!
Soak it in warm water until the hinge remnant floats off, and then I'd give it a good rinse with two or three changes of water. Blot it with paper towel or a clean cotton towel and let it air dry for a while, then sandwich it between a couple of pieces of white paper, and put the "sandwich" in a book with a couple of other books on top (enough to press it flat). I've pressed lots of stamps between the pages of old paperbacks and never had a problem.
Something I would do if it were my stamp is add two or three drops of dishwashing detergent to the initial soak. The stamp is a bit dirty, and might look better after the detergent treatment. You can safely (and gently!) rub the stamp to help remove dirt. (No doubt other members will disagree with the detergent idea, but I've done it many times over many years without the slightest suggestion of a problem.)
Note that there are a few stamps, notably some G.B. stamps (not the Penny Red) that have "fugitive" (water soluble) aniline ink that will wash right off the stamp if you soak them. Catalogues should note the use of such ink.
Bob
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re: I'm kinda of excited
Hi carabop;
What fantastic centering on your stamp!
Most stamps of that period were placed too close together on the printing plate. As a result they usually all have bad centering.
Scott's catalog even has a note about centering. It states that stamps with perforation holes clear of the design on four sides are rare and command a hefty premium. Yours appears to have clearance on top-bottom-left, and barely touching but not removing part of the design on the right side. Awesome!
Altho your cancel is rather dark, it still does not obscure the beauty of this great stamp. And because the entire number "330" is visible nigelc was able to identify that it was canceled in Halifax, in Yorkshire. There is a web page out there somewhere that identifies all of those early period killers by the post office that used them.
I agree with bobstamp on cleaning that stamp, with a emphasis on his use of the word gently!!
Keep on stampin'....
TuskenRaider
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10:27:33pm
re: I'm kinda of excited
I washed the stamp and it is drying now. The stamp had 3 hinges on it and if you look again you will see what I found after washing the stamp, there is a tear in the upper left corner. Hinges cover up so much. It is still a nice stamp and the price makes it all worth while. I am going to keep my eye out for another to add to this stamp. I love the Penny Red.
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re: I'm kinda of excited
@Carabop — I'm glad that the stamp washing worked out for you. Too bad about the tear — all of us have had similar experiences. It's bad enough to discover such a problem after buying the stamp (although most dealers allow returns of such stamps if the problem was not obvious in the image and description. Worse is when you decide to buy a stamp with known problems, and then regret it! I have a German airmail stamp that's beautiful except for a small, hardly noticeable cut in the top margin. I got it at a big discount, but it was still several dollars, and I've never enjoyed having it.
Anyway, you said you'd like to find more Penny Reds. If you save your pennies, you could consider buying this old, old lifetime collection in custom-made albums, currently being offered by Weeda Stamps in Victoria, BC, for only US $49,999! It's not a joke or a scam. Weed Stamps has been a philatelic institution here in BC for decades. The current co-owners, Beverly Fox and Andrew Blanchard, are serious philatelists who normally offer mostly hi-end Canadiana and some U.S./worldwide material. However, this is the most expensive item I've ever seen in their offerings.
Bob
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