從1分錢到2.3億 世界首枚郵票「黑便士」將拍賣

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The worlds first postage stamp, the Penny Black, is displayed at Sothebys in Hong Kong on October 26, 2021, ahead of its auction in London on December 7 that is expected to fetch between 5.5 million to 8.2 million USD. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)

史上第一枚郵票「黑便士」（The Penny Black）將在12月初由蘇富比拍賣，估價高達825萬美元（約新台幣2.3億元）。郵票上印有英國維多莉亞女王的頭像，附在一份1840年4月10日的文件上，該文件屬英國郵政改革先驅華萊士（Robert Wallace）所有；「黑便士」是世界首枚公開發行的固定面額郵票，讓英國民眾得以以統一費率將郵件寄到全國各地，此前由收件人支付郵費，郵票銷售超過6800萬枚。

此枚郵票據信為首版印刷郵票，編號A-1，同批郵票倖存的另外2枚則由英國郵政博物館（British Postal Museum）收藏；其上使用的是維多莉亞女王15歲的側面肖像，沿用了60多年，直至1901年女王去世。蘇富比表示此為郵票的先驅，毫無疑問是現今集郵史上最重要的郵票，開啟了現代為人熟知的郵政系統。

郵票所有者、集郵家霍利奧克（Alan Holyoake）指出：「華萊士的簽名、還有日期等，證明這就是史上首枚郵票。」更強調郵票意義非凡，「開啟了民眾溝通的大門。」他大約在10年前獲得這此珍品，之後花費了約3年的時間確定真偽，並獲得英國皇家集郵協會（The Royal Philatelic Society）及英國集郵協會（British Philatelic Association）的認證。

The World's first postage stamp, a Penny Black, is seen on display ahead of auction at Sotheby's in London, Britain, October 19, 2021. Picture taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
本次拍賣的郵票據信是現存的3枚「黑便士」之一，另外2枚由英國郵政博物館（British Postal Museum）收藏。圖片來源：Getty images
A staff member points to the worlds first postage stamp, the Penny Black, at Sothebys in Hong Kong on October 26, 2021, ahead of its auction in London on December 7 that is expected to fetch between 5.5 million to 8.2 million USD. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)
史上首枚郵票「黑便士」及文件將於12月初拍賣。圖片來源：Getty Images

延伸閱讀》1933年版雙鷹金幣5.2億成交破紀錄 全球最貴郵票2.3億賣出