Postage stamps and postal history of British Columbia Postage stamps and postal history of British Columbia The postage stamps and postal history of British Columbia started in 1860 with the issue of a single brownish-rose stamp depicting Queen Victoria in profile and denominated as 2½ pence. It was issued jointly by Vancouver Island and British Columbia as each colony had insufficient postal trade to justify printing separate stamps. In 1862, Vancouver Island adopted decimal currency and sold the stamp for 5 cents, before issuing its own 5 and 10 cent stamps in September 1865. Meanwhile, British Columbia had increased the postal rate to 3 pence but continued to
Epaulettes (stamp) became legal on 1 July. Because of the lack of an infrastructure of post boxes, particularly in rural areas, letters could be given directly to the postman in person rather than delivered to post offices to be sent. For use, the stamps were cancelled with a heavy, circular black ink stamp. The cancellations, like their British equivalent, had a number in the centre (between one and 135) which was different for each post office around the country. The introduction of the postage stamp, along with daily delivery, allowed a large increase in the volume of mail carried. By 1849, between