Great Britain 1840–1870
1840–1870 · 58 stamps
Where postage stamps begin. The Penny Black went on sale in May 1840 and the Two Pence Blue days after it, and to this day the country that invented the stamp is the only one that does not have to put its name on it. A small run of examples rather than the whole country: the line-engraved issues, the embossed high values, and the first surface-printed Victorians.