The Penny Black - World's First Postage Stamp

Rowland Hill, who is generally regarded as the father of the postage stamp, was the motive force behind the issuance of the Penny Black, but his campaign was not for stamps per se , rather he sought to establish a uniform prepaid rate of one penny per half-ounce for a letter sent anywhere within the British Isles, and the use of stamps and stamped envelopes (see "M is for Mulready" ) was a logical necessity to make that scheme practical. The new rate went into effect on May 6, 1840, and both it and the Penny Black were immediate successes.

There are several notable features of the Penny Black. First, each stamp bears a pair of letters, in the bottom left and right corners, which denote its position in the sheets of 240 (12 x 20) in which the stamp was produced. The letter on the left is the row within the sheet (A through T), and the letter on the right is the position of the stamp in its row (A through L). This was intended as a security and accounting device, but did not last long, since it made it necessary to engrave at least part of each position in the sheet separately. It has been a great help to collectors in plating the issue, however.

You may note as well that there is no country name on the stamp. Since no one else had issued stamps yet, it did not occur to the creators that it might be necessary to distinguish their product from others. In recognition of its status as the first nation to issue stamps, Great Britain was given by international agreement the unique right to continue to issue its stamps with no country name (all other countries that wish to send their mail internationally must place the name of their country on each stamp). However, all GB stamps are immediately recognizable, since the head of the reigning monarch of its date of issue appears on every stamp.

There is a story that Rowland Hill was inspired to champion cheap prepaid postage by witnessing a scene in a country village - the postman presented a letter to a village maiden, who glanced at it, then handed it back, saying she could not afford to pay the postage. Hill, in sympathy, paid the postage and handed it to her. Once the postman had left, the girl confided to Hill that she did not want the letter at all, since the message it conveyed was written in a private code on the exterior, and she had read it when the postman first handed it to her. Whether the story is true or not, it illustrates the major weaknesses of the older system, in which rates were very high, so most mail was sent Due, and the recipient was under no obligation to pay it.


THE POSTAGE DUE PRESIDENT