Postage stamp prepaying. From when the first postage stamps were used, postmarks were applied to prevent the stamps being used again. The first stamp, the "Penny black", became available for purchase 1 May 1840, to be valid as of 6 May 1840. Two days later, 8 May 1840, the Two penny blue was introduced. The Penny black was sufficient for a letter less than half an ounce to be sent anywhere within the UK. Both stamps included an engraving of the young Queen Victoria, without perforations, as the first stamps were separated from their sheets by cutting them with scissors. The first
Postage stamp design error and may not be noticed during the stamp's period of use. The largest run of an error on a postage stamp is the 2011 United States 'Statue of Liberty Forever stamp'. The stamp shows the replica of the Statue of Liberty in Las Vegas rather than the original in New York. The stamp was released in December 2010 and the error was not noticed until March 2011 when it was identified by Sunipix, a stock photo agency in Texas. Ten and a half billion of the error stamps were produced. Postage stamp design error A postage stamp design error is