Postage stamp stamps did not need to show the issuing country, so no country name was included on them. The UK remains the only country to omit its name on postage stamps, using the reigning monarch’s head as country identification. Following the introduction of the postage stamp in the UK, prepaid postage considerably increased the number of letters mailed. Before 1839, the number of letters sent in the UK was typically 76 million. By 1850 this increased five-fold to 350 million, continuing to grow rapidly until the end of the 20th century when newer methods of indicating the payment of postage reduced
Postage stamps and postal history of the Netherlands 2002 a series of 12 provincial stamps were issued. Whilst not strictly local stamps, as they were valid throughout The Netherlands, the stamps were only available to purchase from post offices in the relevant province or from the Netherlands Philatelic Bureau. Variable value stamps have been issued in the Netherlands since 1989. The Netherlands Post Office has been an enthusiastic issuer of postage stamp booklets, issuing over 150 since the first one in 1902. A number of stamps have been issued since 1934 for use at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Postage stamps and postal history of