Penny Blue Penny Blue The Penny Blue is frequently mistaken for a postage stamp of Britain. It is from a series of proof impressions which were made at the time Rowland Hill was looking at the new colours which were to be used for the stamps which were to replace the Penny Black and the original 1840 issue of the Two pence Blue. The decision to change the black stamp to red had already been made, and at the same time the colour of the ink used for the cancellations was to be changed from red to black. Although it had been
Penny in diameter, 5 mm thick and . On them was Britannia with a trident in her hand. The English called this coin the Cartwheel penny due to its large size and raised rim, but the Capetonians referred to it as the Devil's Penny as they assumed that only the Devil used a trident. The coins were very unpopular due to their large weight and size. On 6 June 1825, Lord Charles Somerset, the governor, issued a proclamation that only British Sterling would be legal tender in the Cape (South Africa colony). The new British coins (which were introduced in England