Huge 'Penny Red' collection given to APS

The American Philatelic Society (APS) has announced it has received a donation of 32,000 Penny Reds.

An APS press release indicates, "The gift included 111 complete reconstructions of the original 12- by 20-subject plates that were used to print the 240-stamp sheets, as well as 23 additional plate reconstructions that are largely complete."

With an estimated value of $400,000, the collection belonged to Dr. Edward D. Martin of Arlington, Virginia.

According to Wikipedia, "The Penny Red, issued in 1841, succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancel was readily visible on a Penny Red."

Shown above, Mercer Bristow, Director of the American Philatelic Expertizing Service and curator of the APS Reference Collection, displays a complete reconstruction of a 240-stamp plate used to print Great Britain’s Penny Red stamps of 1864 in one of two hand-made albums which were given to the APS.

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BTW - If you are considering making a donation of philatelic material to the American Philatelic Society or American Philatelic Research Library, contact Ken Martin at 814-933-3817.