Milestones
The Penny Black
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The world's first adhesive postage stamp, issued in Britain in 1840 as part of Rowland Hill's penny postage reform, bearing the profile of Queen Victoria. It created uniform prepaid mail, and within months it had created something Hill never planned: the stamp collector.
Facts
Milestone Year WhenIssued 1 May 1840, valid for postage from 6 May 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
The first stamp created the first stamp collectors within months
Sources
1. Penny Black (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDesign sectionQuote, Design section
The first stamps did not need to show the issuing country, so no country name was included on them.
1. Penny Black (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTreasury competition sectionQuote, Treasury competition section
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.
1. Penny Black (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPenny Red succession, on the 1841 color switchQuote, Penny Red succession, on the 1841 color switch
In February 1841, the treasury switched to the Penny Red and began using black ink for cancellations instead, which was more effective and difficult to remove.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Penny Black called the Penny Black?
Its one-penny price and black ink.
It cost one penny to buy, the standard rate Rowland Hill's postal reform set for a half-ounce letter anywhere in Britain, and it was printed in black ink. In February 1841 the Treasury switched to the Penny Red and began cancelling stamps in black ink instead, because the earlier red cancellation marks were hard to see on the black design and too easy to remove, which had let people reuse stamps.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.