The First Postage Stamp - The Penny Black
 The first regularly issued government postage stamp was in England (Great Britain, actually). It did not show the name of the country because it was not necessary. No other country used these kinds of stamps so what was the point? The first few issues of stamps were in sheets that had rows and columns shown by letters of the alphabet. This example shows row "A" and column "A", so we know it was the stamp in the top left corner of the sheet. The stamp shows a picture of the Queen and the price it cost - one penny. The post office really hit this stamp with a dark cancel, showing a pretty pattern. Even today, Great Britain continues the tradition of not showing the name of the country on stamps. Return to the World Page Return to Main Page |