The profile of a crowned head of a woman, white on black, plus the words “Postage” and “One Penny”: the postage stamp, which is considered to be the forerunner of the modern postal system, is quite inconspicuous.

But at auction in London on Tuesday, the "Penny Black" printed in 1840 fetched millions.

The auction house Sotheby's had called an estimate of four to six million British pounds (about 4.75 to 7.13 million euros).

The result was almost disappointing: At 3.8 million pounds, the hammer finally fell, plus fees.

The expectations were quite realistic, as experience shows.

The most expensive philatelic collector's item is a so-called British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, which Sotheby's auctioned in 2014 for 9.48 million US dollars (then 6.97 million euros).

Prices fluctuate, however - the same brand brought in $ 8.3 million this June.

Despite the pandemic, the collector's market is booming.

It was only in mid-October that Sotheby's achieved the most expensive price ever paid for a work by British street artist Banksy for a total of £ 18.5 million for “Love is in the Bin”.

Most important piece of philatelic history

“This is the very first postage stamp, the forerunner of all postage stamps and undoubtedly the most important piece of philatelic history there is,” said auction director Henry House for the “Penny Black”.

The stamp with the profile of Queen Victoria, which comes from the very first print, founded the postage system as we know it.

It's also imperforated and amazingly well preserved, which also adds to its value.

It is the British version of the "Black One".

The first German postage stamp, issued in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1849, is also known to people who are not interested in philately, since “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” candidate Ralf Schnoor from Hanover once won the main prize with the answer “Black ones”.

The story of the "Penny Black" offers an interesting insight into the development of modern postal services.

The brand symbolizes the beginning of mass communication, said the previous owner, the British philatelist and businessman Alan Holyoake.

A good ten years ago he acquired the stamp together with the “Wallace Document” on which it sticks for less than 60,000 euros.

Two more copies

Even then there were rumors that it was a brand from the very first “Penny Black” set.

But only years of research by experts from the Royal Philatelic Society and the British Philatelic Association brought certainty.

There are probably only two other similarly well-preserved copies of the "Penny Black" from the first print, both in the collection of the British Poastal Museum.

The now auctioned stamp sticks on the "Wallace Document". This is an entry in an album created by the British postal reformer and MP Robert Wallace. "First evidence of a penny postage stamp presented to Mr. Wallace by Chancellor of the Exchequer Francis Thornhill Baring - April 10, 1840," reads the handwritten accompanying text that announced the use of the stamp on May 6 of that year.

Wallace played an instrumental role in establishing the modern postal system. Because until then, letters were still paid for by the recipient as soon as he picked them up at the post office. The fees changed often, mostly increased, especially when the government needed money. That changed with the "Penny Black": From then on, the sender paid the postage - items with a maximum weight of 14 grams cost one penny regardless of the distance.

The black stamp was soon replaced by a red one, the “Penny Red”.

Black postmarks turned out to be more secure against counterfeiting, but were naturally more difficult to recognize on black stamps.

The "Penny Black" remained the pioneer.

Even more than a century and a half later, their successors have still not been completely ousted by newer technologies, as Sotheby's points out.