Which was the first British postage stamp to be issued with perforations?
"separating stamps from a sheet proved an inconvenience for postal clerks and businesses, both dealing with large numbers of individual stamps on a daily basis. By 1850, methods such as rouletting wheels were being devised in efforts of making stamp separation more convenient, and less time consuming. The United Kingdom was the first country to issue postage stamps with perforations. The first machine specifically designed to perforate sheets of postage stamps was invented in London by Henry Archer, an Irish landowner and railroad man from Dublin, Ireland. The 1850 Penny Red was the first stamp to be perforated during trial"
"1854. The first officially perforated stamps were issued in February 1854. Stamps from Henry Archer's perforation trials were issued in the last few months of 1850; during the 1851 parliamentary session at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; and finally in 1853/54 after the UK government paid Mr. Archer £4,000 for his machine and the patent. When the first postage stamps were issued in the 1840s, they followed an almost identical standard in shape, size and general subject matter. They were rectangular in shape. They bore the images of Queens, Presidents and other political figures. They also depicted"
"principle and piercing the paper with a series of cuts. Archer then abandoned this approach in favour of perforation, a process which used rows of small round pins to punch out the holes. In 1848 Archer patented his perforation machine which worked on the ""stroke"" principle. The arrangement of the pins enabled the top and sides of each stamp across the row to be perforated in a single operation, and this became known as ""comb"" perforation. Perforation trials were conducted in 1849 and 1850 under the auspices of the British Government and stamps from these trials were first issued towards"
"holes, but the machine was soon modified. The first stamp issue to be officially perforated, the 3-cent George Washington, was issued by the U.S. Post Office on February 24, 1857. Between 1857 and 1861 all stamps originally issued between 1851 and 1856 were reissued with perforations. Initial capacity was insufficient to perforate all stamps printed, thus perforated issues used between February and July 1857 are scarce and quite valuable. In addition to the most common rectangular shape, stamps have been issued in geometric (circular, triangular and pentagonal) and irregular shapes. The United States issued its first circular stamp in 2000"
"Perfin In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called ""SPIFS"" (Stamps Perforated with Initials of Firms and Societies). Great Britain was the first country to use perfins, beginning in 1868. The practice spread quickly to Belgium (1872); Denmark, France, Germany and Switzerland (1876); and Austria (1877); the U.S. finally allowed perfins in 1908. In Britain unused postage stamps could be redeemed for cash at the post office. By agreement with postal authorities,"
"perforated in three different types (a, b et c) has been realised by the English printer J. P. Segg & C° in London. Value and colour of the fourteen values of the ""flying Hermes"" set: In 1902, the Greek postal administration issued a set of five stamps with the same effigy, perforated 13 & ½, for the payment in medal money (golden drachma) for the international parcels shipment with the mention AM for ""Αξια Μεταλλιχη"" for ""Metal Value"". These stamps have been printed in England by Perkins Bacon & C°. The five values are: The 50 lepta, red is a"
"to a railway. Archer quarrelled with his fellow directors, with the Oakeley Estate and with James Spooner and was less active in FR company affairs after the railway opened. In 1836 he sued the FR company for his salary and received a substantial settlement. Nominally he remained as Managing Director until 1856 and as a director until 1860, when the FR Co. gave him a pension of £100 per annum as the originator of the FR and for devoting many years to its service. Philatelists know Henry Archer as the inventor of the first postage stamp perforating machine, which he"
"in which the country is identified by the letters 'JE' perfinned into the coupon. Perfin In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called ""SPIFS"" (Stamps Perforated with Initials of Firms and Societies). Great Britain was the first country to use perfins, beginning in 1868. The practice spread quickly to Belgium (1872); Denmark, France, Germany and Switzerland (1876); and Austria (1877); the U.S. finally allowed perfins in 1908. In Britain unused postage stamps"
"prepaying. From when the first postage stamps were used, postmarks were applied to prevent the stamps being used again. The first stamp, the ""Penny black"", became available for purchase 1 May 1840, to be valid as of 6 May 1840. Two days later, 8 May 1840, the Two penny blue was introduced. The Penny black was sufficient for a letter less than half an ounce to be sent anywhere within the UK. Both stamps included an engraving of the young Queen Victoria, without perforations, as the first stamps were separated from their sheets by cutting them with scissors. The first"
"British embossed postage stamps The adhesive embossed postage stamps of the United Kingdom, issued during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1847 and 1854 exhibit four features which are unique to this issue: Three values of the octagonal stamps were introduced to cover higher foreign and registered postal charges on the following dates: 1 Shilling (green) - 11 September 1847, 10d (brown) - 6 November 1848, 6d (mauve/lilac/purple) - 1 March 1854 The 1 shilling was the first British postage stamp to bear a value above 2d. The dies used for this type of printing have the embossed, (raised), portions"
"The paper was watermarked by a small six pointed star as well as around the margin with ""POSTAGE"" twice at the sides and once at the top and bottom, the spaces between being filled by five parallel lines. The stamps were printed by a Mr. Dix on 10 November, and perforated by a Miss Stewart on 14 November. The perforation needles were set to 14 to 16 and often became clogged giving rough perforations. The first issue of these stamps was made on 18 December 1860 and details were printed in the ""Island Gazette"" for the 19th with stamps in"
"stamp collecting began at the same time that stamps were first issued, and by 1860 thousands of collectors and stamp dealers were appearing around the world as this new study and hobby spread across Europe, European colonies, the United States and other parts of the world. The first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued by Britain in May 1840 and pictured a young Queen Victoria. It was produced without perforations (imperforate) and consequently had to be cut from the sheet with scissors in order to be used. While unused examples of the Penny Black are quite scarce, used examples"
"as perfins - that is with initials or insignia added as perforations to mint stamps which meant they could not be redeemed for cash at a post office. The addition of perfins was widespread practice in Britain from the 1860s as a precaution against theft. Penny Lilac The Penny Lilac was the basic penny postage stamp of Great Britain from its first issue on 12 July 1881 and was used until 1901. It superseded the short lived Penny Venetian Red because the Customs and Inland Revenue Act of 1881 necessitated new stamps that were also valid as revenue stamps, and"
"Great Britain commemorative stamps 1970–79 Commemorative stamps, postage stamps issued to honor or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by Great Britain since 1970. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1970s. Postage Stamps were first used in Great Britain on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first Adhesive Postage Stamp known as the Penny Black. Until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning Monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps (also known as the ""Sea Horses"" design) issued in 1913, which were twice the size"
"hundred pounds. There are approximately 36 perforated examples recorded and these sell for much higher prices. Of the 36 examples, 3 are in brown, three are in blue (the latest realized £38,080.00 at auction) and the remainder are in black. Prince Consort Essay The Prince Consort Essay was a surface printed printer's sample stamp created in 1851 as an example of the surface printed stamps that Henry Archer proposed to print and perforate under contract with the British government at a lower price than the current printing firm of Perkins Bacon. The Prince Consort stamps were provided by the artist"
"Great Britain commemorative stamps 1990–99 Commemorative stamps, postage stamps issued to honor or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by Great Britain since 1924. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1990s. Postage stamps were first used in Great Britain on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black. Up until 1924, all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps, the so-called ""Sea Horses"" design issued in 1913, which were twice the size of normal stamps"
"Great Britain commemorative stamps 1980–89 Commemorative stamps, which are postage stamps issued to honor or commemorate a place, event or person, have been released by Great Britain since 1924. Several sets were released during the decade of the 1980s. Postage stamps were first used in Great Britain on 6 May 1840, with the introduction of the world's first Adhesive Postage Stamp the Penny Black. Up until 1924 all British stamps depicted only the portrait of the reigning Monarch, with the exception of the 'High Value' stamps, the so-called ""Sea Horses"" design, issued in 1913, which were twice the size of"
"in London were put on sale in the Bahamas the June 10, 1859. Perforations appeared in September 1860 but they were perfectly mastered by Perkins Bacon after 1863 (14 holes for 2 cm). To replace British stamps on the mail sent to North America and the United Kingdom, two new values are issued; 4 pence rose and 6 pence grey. The pineapple and conch ovals were no longer used. When Queensland separated from New South Wales they issued the first stamps with a ""Chalon"" effigy in 1860 and replaced them in 1880. The Chalon head reappeared in 1882 on bigger"
"type was a comb head which gave a uniform perforation around the impressions (see illustrations above), whilst the later was a line type which perforated in one direction first then the other after rotation of the sheet. This later line type is most notable on the corners of the stamps where the perforation holes do not line up. British Empire Exhibition postage stamps Two postage stamps were issued to commemorate the British Empire Exhibition, a colonial exhibition held in Wembley Park, Wembley, in 1924–25. Two denominations, a penny red and a three halfpenny brown, were produced. They were issued again"
"were reused for 5d and 8d in 1855. In 1856 a Perkins Bacon design was also adopted for the lower values as well. The inking of all these was highly variable, and there are dozens of distinct color varieties. The use of perforation began in 1860; unfortunately for collectors, the stamps were very closely spaced, the perforating process not well controlled, and it is unusual to find stamps from before 1899 where the perforation does not touch or cut into the design on one or more sides. The first 5-shilling stamp was issued in 1861, and it was notable for"
"corners. Each stamp has unique corner letters AA, AB, AC ... AL etc., so its position on the plate can be identified. In January 1855, the perforation size was changed from 16 to 14 as it was found that the sheets were coming apart too easily. The reduced size allowed the sheets to remain intact until pressure was applied to force the separation. The stamps were printed in sheets of 240 (20 rows of 12 stamps), so one row cost 1 shilling and a complete sheet one pound. This 240 stamps per sheet configuration continued with all British postage stamps"
"about 21 billion being produced. The Victorian age saw an explosion of experimentation. The inefficiency of using scissors to cut stamps from the sheet inspired trials with rouletting (the Archer Roulette), and then with perforation, which became standard practice in 1854. In 1847, the (octagonal) 1 shilling (£0.05) became the first of the British embossed postage stamps to be issued, followed by 10d stamps the following year, and 6d (£0.025) values in 1854. Surface-printed stamps first appeared in the form of a 4d stamp in 1855, printed by De La Rue, and subsequently became the standard type. d (halfpenny) and"
"Black design features in the innovations section of the new British passport in 2015. Also in 2015, the search engine Google marked the 175th anniversary of the postage stamp with a Google doodle of the Penny Black. Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in Great Britain on 1 May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6 May. It features a profile of Queen Victoria. In 1837, British postal rates were high, complex and anomalous. To simplify matters, Sir Rowland Hill proposed an"
"similar stamp in the same design but in blue. In 1880, a new design, also portraying Queen Victoria, was issued. These remained in use for over fifty years, and therefore many printings exist with different perforations, watermarks and papers. Many different denominations were issued ranging from 4d to £1000. From 1 April 1882 these became valid for postal use, and postally used copies generally command higher prices than fiscally used ones. Around 1884, the 1867 imperforate design was reissued in gold, and it was individually printed with the required value at a particular point in time. Government records indicate that"
"Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in Great Britain on 1 May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6 May. It features a profile of Queen Victoria. In 1837, British postal rates were high, complex and anomalous. To simplify matters, Sir Rowland Hill proposed an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage. At the time it was normal for the recipient to pay postage on delivery, charged by the sheet and on distance travelled. By contrast, the Penny Black allowed letters of"
"The portion of a cancellation that is designed to deface the stamp and does not contain writing is also called the ""obliteration"" or killer. Some stamps are issued pre-cancelled with a printed or stamped cancellation and do not need to have a cancellation added. Cancellations can affect the value of stamps to collectors, positively or negatively. The cancellations of some countries have been extensively studied by philatelists and many stamp collectors and postal history collectors collect cancellations in addition to the stamps themselves. The first adhesive postage stamp was the Penny Black, issued in 1840 by Great Britain. The postal"
"used in December 1866. In all, the first set consisted of seventy eight stamps with denominations ranging from 1d to £10. In May 1867, these stamps were reissued perforated 12½, and this time more values were added up to £50. Various changes in the perforation and watermark were also issued around this time. These were replaced by stamps printed by a new die in 1871, with minor differences in the design. On 15 June 1878, a penny lilac revenue stamp was issued in a design based on that of British revenues. On 14 December 1878, this was replaced by a"
"about 21 billion Penny Reds were printed by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. Initially, the stamp had no perforations, and had to be cut from the sheet using scissors in the same manner as for the Penny Black and the early printings of the Two pence blue. Perforations, (experimental gauge 16), first came into use in 1850 and were officially adopted in 1854 (in the same size as the experimental issue). The experimental issue can be distinguished from the general issue as the later was applied to stamp which used a different alphabet type for the letters in the lower"
"a rotary plate perforated 10, an error imperforate that was then officially reproduced, and a very rare version, the rotary perforated 11 (discussed below in ""Oddities of the issue""). The black colored memorial stamp itself is not considered a ""Regular Issue"" by collectors, however its basic design and theme was used in the three separate printings of the 1½-cent stamp that was added to the regular Issue a year and a half after the memorial issue. It was in March 1925 that the Post Office added the 1½-cent Harding stamp to the current ""Regular Issues"". Printed in brown, it uses"
"Three Halfpence Red The Three Halfpence Red, first issued on 1 October 1870, was the first Three Halfpenny postage stamp issued in the United Kingdom. The d stamp was line engraved and featured the bust of Queen Victoria in profile common to the Penny Black and Penny Red, bordered by 'Postage Three Half Pence' and numbered in the corners. It was printed in rose-red and lake-red colours. There is also rare variation in rosy-mauve produced ten years earlier in 1860 in anticipation of a change in postal rates. The new rate was not approved and 10,000 sheets of the stamps"
"to 14. Stamps that are perforated on one pair of opposite sides and imperforate on the other have most often been produced in coils instead of sheets, but they can sometimes come from booklet panes. Booklet panes can be associated with any combination of one, two or three imperforate sides. Sheet edges can produce any one imperforate side or two adjacent imperforate sides when the stamp comes from the corner of the sheet. Variations include ""syncopated perforations"" which are uneven, either skipping a hole or by making some holes larger. In the 1990s, Great Britain began adding large elliptical holes"
"1, 1861. It consisted of seven denominations (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 lepta). The 30 and 60 lepta stamps were introduced in 1876. The ""large Hermes head"" stamps are non perforated, with the exception of the two overprinted sets of 1900/1901, in imperforate sheets of 150 stamps.The individual stamps were separated at the counter using scissors, resulting in defects in a large proportion of them (cutting off part of the image). However unofficial perforations were produced locally. The most commonly found is the so-called ""Athens perforation"" (11½). The drawing of the mock-up, the engraving of the dies"
"many known errors of this issue: The d, the d, the 2d, the d, the 3d, the 4d and the 10d all exist imperforate. As well as this, all the stamps can be found with their watermarks inverted and with a ""SPECIMEN"" overprint. Most of the stamps in this issue can be found with slight colour variations and two different dies also exist. Jubilee Issue The postage stamps of the United Kingdom issued in 1887 are known as the ""Jubilee"" issue because they were issued during the year of the Golden Jubilee of the accession of Queen Victoria to the"