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
First stamp of the Russian Empire On 20 October 1857, Alexander II approved three two-colour samples printed in denominations of 10, 20, and 30 kopecks. On 9 November, the Emperor ordered to call them "postage stamps" instead of "stempel" stamps. Manufacturing of the 10-kopeck stamps began in November. The first Russian postage stamp was printed on a white hand-made paper with a watermark in the form of a figure "1", 15 mm heigh. Since a punching machine ordered from the in Vienna was received only on 19 November and in a state of disrepair, it was decided to hand over a part of the printed imperforate