Penny Venetian Red Penny Venetian Red The Penny Venetian Red was a British postage stamp equal to the value of one penny. Issued in 1880, it was designed and surface-printed by security printing company De La Rue. It superseded the Penny Red that had been used in Great Britain since 1841, and was the third one-penny stamp to enter regular usage in the country. The Venetian Red was aesthetically similar to the Penny Red and Penny Black that had come before it, but was instead coloured a venetian red and had a square framing. Close to 1.5 million Venetian Reds were printed during
Penny Black sheet to present as gifts to dignitaries and other important people. Individual stamps from an Imprimatur sheet can thus be found for sale on the open market. A complete sheet of the Penny Black without check letters is held by the British Postal Museum. This unique item is in fact a plate proof, and by definition not an imprimatur sheet. The Penny Black was printed from 11 plates, but as Plate 1 was completely overhauled due to excessive wear, it is generally considered to be two separate plates, 1a and 1b. Plate 11 was originally intended solely for the printing