British embossed postage stamps British embossed postage stamps The adhesive embossed postage stamps of the United Kingdom, issued during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1847 and 1854 exhibit four features which are unique to this issue: Three values of the octagonal stamps were introduced to cover higher foreign and registered postal charges on the following dates: 1 Shilling (green) - 11 September 1847, 10d (brown) - 6 November 1848, 6d (mauve/lilac/purple) - 1 March 1854 The 1 shilling was the first British postage stamp to bear a value above 2d. The dies used for this type of printing have the embossed, (raised), portions
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