Penny Black stamp sells for more than antique price guide of £500
Those looking for an antique price guide on an item might be inspired by a recent Penny Black stamp that sold for £800.
A Penny Black stamp has gone under the hammer for more than its antique price guide of £500.
The item - which was on a letter posted to Sheffield in 1841 - sold for £800 at auction in London, the BBC reports.
But according to Dominic Savastano - from auction firm Spink, which was responsible for selling the item - despite being the first stamps in the world, Penny Blacks are not actually that rare.
He added: "They printed somewhere between 68 and 72 million of them between 1840 and 1841."
This example was on a letter sent to snuff manufacturer J&H Wilson in Sheffield from Nailsworth near Stroud in Gloucestershire - and Mr Savastano was not surprised at its success considering its "very nice condition".
Earlier this week, another item exceeded its antique price guide when a Chinese porcelain bowl was sold at auction for £38,000 after a valuation of £500 had been put on it.
Posted by Lisa Marriott