The famous £1 PUC stamp - how much should you pay?
My new stamp - this cost me £305
Many British collectors started their collection by buying British commemorative stamps. These were easy to obtain, nice to look at and very easy to identify.
They are also relatively cheap. There is one major exception – the 1929 PUC £1 stamp. Two weeks ago I managed to buy one for a reasonable price.
The history of the stamp is interesting. Every four years the Postal Union Congress (PUC) used to meet to discuss the issues involved in sending stamps across international borders. And the 1929 meeting was held in London. To commemorate the event the Post Office produced a set of five stamps.
Four of the stamps were low values- a halfpenny, one penny, one and a half pence and two and a half pence. However there was also a very unusual high value stamp – the £1 value.
Not only was it much bigger than the other stamps, but it had a very elaborate design showing St George attacking a dragon. It seems odd that such violent imagery was used to promote a conference about international co-operation. However this was because the image had originally been designed for the British Empire Exhibition stamps of 1924, so the image of the Saint George (the symbol of Britain) slaying evil forces might seem less surprising.
Anyway, the stamp has become incredibly popular. It was distinctive, beautifully engraved and it has become the highlight of numerous collections. It is something that most collectors of Great Britain want to get hold of. So how much should you pay?
My 2014 Stanley Gibbons catalogue gives the value for unmounted mint as £1100, mounted mint as £750 and used as £550. The value has dropped greatly over the last 20 years. At one time it was almost £2,000 for unmounted mint.
I would suggest that the mounted mint price is great over-rated. About 18 months ago I was offered a very nice copy for £275. I didn't buy it because I was a bit short of money at the time. However two weeks ago when my local dealer came up with a fine used copy, I had a bit of a discussion with him.
The stamp was nicely centred, very clean and had a circular date stamp, although I couldn't make out the details. After a few minutes of haggling we settled on a price of £305, which I thought was reasonable. So if you can get a nice copy – fine used or mounted mint with original gum – expect to pay between £300 and £400. It's a nice stamp, very attractive and if you are collecting predecimal British Commemoratives, this is the one that will complete your collection. Don't expect it to leap up in value, but if you get a good copy it should hold its value reasonably well.
George V's Obsession - a King and his stamps by Jack Shamash is available on Kindle
Famous stamps
Australian Roos
They are also relatively cheap. There is one major exception – the 1929 PUC £1 stamp. Two weeks ago I managed to buy one for a reasonable price.
The history of the stamp is interesting. Every four years the Postal Union Congress (PUC) used to meet to discuss the issues involved in sending stamps across international borders. And the 1929 meeting was held in London. To commemorate the event the Post Office produced a set of five stamps.
Four of the stamps were low values- a halfpenny, one penny, one and a half pence and two and a half pence. However there was also a very unusual high value stamp – the £1 value.
Not only was it much bigger than the other stamps, but it had a very elaborate design showing St George attacking a dragon. It seems odd that such violent imagery was used to promote a conference about international co-operation. However this was because the image had originally been designed for the British Empire Exhibition stamps of 1924, so the image of the Saint George (the symbol of Britain) slaying evil forces might seem less surprising.
Anyway, the stamp has become incredibly popular. It was distinctive, beautifully engraved and it has become the highlight of numerous collections. It is something that most collectors of Great Britain want to get hold of. So how much should you pay?
My 2014 Stanley Gibbons catalogue gives the value for unmounted mint as £1100, mounted mint as £750 and used as £550. The value has dropped greatly over the last 20 years. At one time it was almost £2,000 for unmounted mint.
I would suggest that the mounted mint price is great over-rated. About 18 months ago I was offered a very nice copy for £275. I didn't buy it because I was a bit short of money at the time. However two weeks ago when my local dealer came up with a fine used copy, I had a bit of a discussion with him.
The stamp was nicely centred, very clean and had a circular date stamp, although I couldn't make out the details. After a few minutes of haggling we settled on a price of £305, which I thought was reasonable. So if you can get a nice copy – fine used or mounted mint with original gum – expect to pay between £300 and £400. It's a nice stamp, very attractive and if you are collecting predecimal British Commemoratives, this is the one that will complete your collection. Don't expect it to leap up in value, but if you get a good copy it should hold its value reasonably well.
George V's Obsession - a King and his stamps by Jack Shamash is available on Kindle
Famous stamps
Australian Roos