Jasper52 auction July 25 dedicated to collecting British stamps

British stamps

Pair of Penny Black stamps, (MK/ML) Plate 4, bearing part of a marginal inscription, canceled with crisp red postmarks. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – A collection of vintage British postage stamps comprise a Jasper52 auction that will be conducted Wednesday, July 25. Some of the nearly 100 lots offered in the auction date to the earliest years of the postal system established by the United Kingdom. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

The postal history of the United Kingdom is notable for the introduction of postage stamps in 1840. The Jasper52 auction will open with seven lots of the British Penny Black, which is generally acknowledged as the world’s first postage stamp. The Penny Blacks (above) depict a profile of a young Queen Victoria. First issued in Great Britain on May 1, 1840, it was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system.

Also from the era before postage stamps were perforated is a vertical pair of green SG 55 stamps in fine used condition, circa 1847 (below).

British stamps

One-shilling green stamps, SG55, attractive vertical pair, fine used. Estimate: $400-$500. Jasper52 image

Queen Victoria again appears on the 2-shilling pale blue SG120 stamp, circa 1867 (below).

British stamps

Two-shilling pale blue stamp, SG120, corner perforation missing, lightly mounted mint. Estimate: $600-$700. Jasper52 image

A mounted mint Pale Rose SG 127 5-shilling stamp, 1867, bears a “specimen” overprint. This scarce stamp also pictures the queen.

British stamps

Five-shilling pale rose stamp, SG127s, mounted mint ‘specimen’ overprint. Estimate: $700-$800. Jasper52 image

King Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910, was the first British male monarch to be pictured on British stamps. A marginal block of four 9d Slate Purple and Pale Ultramarine stamps in the Jasper52 auction is in unmounted mint condition.

British stamps

Upper marginal block of four unmounted 9d Slate Purple and Pale Ultramarine SG209 stamps, mint condition. Estimate: $600-$700. Jasper52 image

King George V, who ruled Great Britain from 1910 until 1936, is pictured on the 1d Bright Scarlet SG 341a stamp. A block of 15 of these stamps in the auction is unmounted and in mint condition. No cross is shown on the crown of seven of the stamps in the block, a detail that is of interest to stamp collectors.

British stamps

Block of 15 1-penny Bright Scarlet SG341a stamps, unmounted mint, with no cross on the crown on seven stamps. Estimate: $400-$500. Jasper52 image

A few modern stamps are offered in the Jasper 52 auction including an imperforate pair of 1992 24-pence Pikeman stamps, which commemorates England’s Civil War of 1642-1651 “fought between the forces of King & Parliament.” Lot 98 has a $200-$300 estimate.