British embossed postage stamps very narrow which is why examples with four margins are rare. In some cases the impressions were impressed overlapping each other by quite a large amount. The stamps were embossed, (printed), at Somerset House. Early collectors would often cut the stamps to shape retaining only the embossed central design and cut square examples are much more valuable. In 1856 after the European postage rate was reduced the stamps were replaced by surface printed issues. British embossed postage stamps The adhesive embossed postage stamps of the United Kingdom, issued during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1847 and 1854 exhibit four
Postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan Postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan. Tajikistan, officially the "Republic of Tajikistan", is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). It became independent in 1991. The first stamps of Tajikistan were issued on 20 May 1992. Before then, Tajikistan used stamps of the Soviet Union. In 1992 and 1993 the Tajikistan Post Office resorted to overprinting stamps of