This cover was posted to Warwickshire on 6 May 1840, the first valid day of the Penny Black. Its date is preserved in a brown postmark on the reverse flap. Siegel’s description records a missing left flap and a small hole punch in the upper-left corner, details that help identify this particular cover. It appeared as lot 1018 in sale 913 on 13 May 2006. The auction house records a hammer price of US$45,000 against a pre-sale estimate of US$15,000–20,000. The buyer is not named in the source.

Other examples: Penny Black