| Two Pence Blue Queen Victoria issued in 1841-79 Authentic, original old stamp The 2d Blue was a development of the Penny Black with the colour being changed from black to red so that the new black Maltese Cross cancellation could be clearly seen.
Watermark: Crown
plate numbers: 8
The world's first adhesive postage stamp The Penny Black and Red were the world's first adhesive postage stamps used in a public postal system. It was issued in Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year and features a profile of the Queen Victoria. All London post offices received official issues of the new stamps but other offices throughout the United Kingdom did not, continuing to accept postage payments in cash only for a period. Post offices such as those in Bath began offering the stamp unofficially after 2 May 1840. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancel was readily visible on a Penny Red. | Two Penny Blue (1841 second 'white line' issue) |
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| | | Country of production | United Kingdom |
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| Date of production | 6 May 1840 |
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| Perforation | None |
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| Depicts | Queen Victoria |
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| Notability | World's second official postage stamp |
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| Face value | 2d |
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Two Penny Blue Queen Victoria The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official postage stamp, produced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and issued after the Penny Black.
Initial printing took place from 1 May 1840, and in all 6,460,000 were printed from two plates until 29 August.[1]: 161 Officially the stamps were valid for postage from 6 May.[1]: 164 It was first sold to the public at the London Inland revenue office on 6 May 1840.[citation needed] Except for its denomination, the design is exactly the same as the penny black and was struck from the same die.
It was originally intended that the 2d blue be issued at the same time as the 1d black; the earliest postmark seen on one of these is 6 May 1840. The first issues of this value (intended for double rate letters), were printed from plates 1 and 2. The printing plates were destroyed in 1843.[1]: 161 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. Printing of the revised stamps began on 27 February 1841 and were placed on sale in March.[1]: 174–5 These are referred to as the white lines added issue, as pictured right. They are more common than the original 1840 printing.
Several differences exist in the post-1841 stamps due to watermark, perforation, paper and type variations. In all the 1840-80 series of this design used 15 plates.
The Penny Black allowed a letter weighing up to half an ounce to be sent anywhere within Britain or Ireland; the Two Penny Blue's weight limit was a full ounce.
The plate number, 15 in this case, may be found in the margin of the stamp.
The Jacob Perkins' press, that printed the Penny Black/Red and the 2d Blue, in the British Library Philatelic Collections.
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