Rare stamps envelope sold for £36,000

It COST the equivalent of just four pence to post it to Edinburgh 170 years ago, but a rare Victorian envelope has now sold at auction in London for £36,000.

The envelope was sent to an address in India Street, Edinburgh, on August 28, 1840 - just three months after Britain's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, had been introduced.

The envelope, which was sold by multi-millionaire Lord Vestey for around 16,000 more than anticipated, featured two Penny Blacks and four tuppenny blue stamps.

Dominic Savastano, a stamps specialist at auctioneers Spink, said: "It is such a stunning item. It is a big rarity to find this combination of stamps on a cover."

The envelope - which was bought by a mystery bidder - was among a number of valuable Victorian postal items sold by Lord Vestey, 69, who is one of Britain's richest men.