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 reuse unusual methods have included tearing or slicing the stamp, but this is a slower process and can easily damage the contents, and was only occasionally used. An example is 19th-century Afghanistan, where cancellation involved the removal of part of the stamp rather than applying ink or other surface marking. Postage stamp reuse The article outlines methods used in the design of postage stamps to avoid their fraudulent reuse (mainly by removing the postmark), attempted to avoid postage fees. It does not concern methods to limit the production of fake or forgery (rare) postage stamps to abuse the collectors. The crux