1840 Great Britain Penny Black Postage Stamp with Expert Certificate

This item is an original 1840 Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from 'PHILA 2000' signed by Eric Olivier, dated September 26, 2011. The stamp features a profile portrait of Queen Victoria in black ink on white paper, which has aged to a cream/off-white tone. It is used (cancelled) as indicated by the French text 'Il est oblitéré' on the certificate. The stamp appears to have four clear margins, a highly desirable trait for collector value. It features the 'POSTAGE' header and 'ONE PENNY' footer common to this issue. The certificate provides a provenance and expert verification of the stamp's condition as 'sans défaut' (without fault), which is critical for high-end philatelic valuation. The stamp is presented in a protective black stock card mount beneath the certificate. The craftsmanship involves a fine steel plate engraving produced by Perkins, Bacon & Co. in London. The overall condition looks excellent for its age, showing no visible thins, tears, or significant staining beyond natural paper aging and the cancellation mark. The specific check letters at the bottom corners, used for security and identifying plate positions, appear to be 'L' and 'J' based on the certificate photo, though they are slightly obscured by the cancel.