Stamp collecting stamp collecting began at the same time that stamps were first issued, and by 1860 thousands of collectors and stamp dealers were appearing around the world as this new study and hobby spread across Europe, European colonies, the United States and other parts of the world. The first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued by Britain in May 1840 and pictured a young Queen Victoria. It was produced without perforations (imperforate) and consequently had to be cut from the sheet with scissors in order to be used. While unused examples of the Penny Black are quite scarce, used examples
First stamp of the Russian Empire short strokes or dots in the originals. First stamp of the Russian Empire The first stamp of the Russian Empire was a postage stamp issued in 1857 and introduced within the territory of the Russian Empire in 1858. It was an imperforate 10-kopeck stamp depicting the coat of arms of Russia, and printed using typography in brown and blue. In 1851, a head of post rail transportation Alexey Charukovsky was sent abroad to study the experience of using postage stamps. After visiting England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany and gathering a lot of information, he returned to