Penny Red Penny Red The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancel was readily visible on a Penny Red. Initially, some of the same plates that were used to print the Penny Black were used to print the Penny Red and
Penny Venetian Red the stamp's run; the printing plates used allowed for 240 stamps each. Like its predecessors, the Venetian Red sported individual letters in each of its corners to identify its position on the plate. The Venetian Red had a short run, and was replaced by the Penny Lilac in July 1881. Its displacement is attributed to a change in government postal policy: the Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1881 necessitated the creation of a new provision of revenue stamps. A new inscription was therefore needed, and the new Penny Lilacs featured the words "POSTAGE AND INLAND REVENUE" and "ONE PENNY", instead