Two pence blue
Encyclopedia
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
, issued after the Penny Black
Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....
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It was issued in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and was first sold to the public at the London Inland revenue office in the afternoon of May 8th 1840. Except for its denomination of the design is exactly the same as the 1d black and was struck from the same die.
It was intended that the 2d blue was to be issued at the same time as the 1d black, however there is doubt about this - the earliest post mark seen on one of these was the 8th of May 1840, two days later than the Penny Black. The first issues of this value (intended for double rate letters), were printed from plates 1 and 2. Copies of the stamp are now significantly rarer and more expensive than the Penny Black.
Later when the colours of the stamps were being revised, the inks chosen were red-brown for the penny value and a new blue ink for the two pence value. As the printed stamps in the new ink looked the same as the original issue, it was decided to add a horizontal line at the top and bottom of the label so as the newer printings could be easily identified. These are generally referred to as the white lines added issue.
The Penny Black allowed a letter weighing up to half an ounce
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
to be sent anywhere within Britain; the Two Penny Blue's weight limit was a full ounce.
See also
- Penny BlackPenny BlackThe Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year....
- Penny RedPenny RedThe Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time...
- VR officialVR officialThe VR official was one of three postage stamps introduced by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in May 1840 for the pre-payment of postage. While the Penny Black and the Two Pence Blue were for use by the general public, as were the Mulready envelopes and letter sheets, the VR...
- List of British postage stamps