World's first postage stamps sold at Czech auction

An unused block of the world's first adhesive postage stamps used in a public postal system, the Penny Black, was sold at a Prague auction house for CZK 9.1 million over the weekend, making it the most expensive item from abroad ever to be sold at a Czech auction. The rare block of 12 stamps, one of the largest unused sets of this type of stamp on the market, was sold by a Czech collector and will continue to remain in the country.

The Penny Black was first issued in the United Kingdom in 1840 and features a picture of Queen Victoria in profile.