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 Switzerland Postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland. The first stamps used in Switzerland were issued by the cantons of Zürich, Geneva and Basel for their own use, with the first federal issues coming several years later, on April 7, 1850. By March 19, 1798, the Helvetic Republic had come into being; although it was not until September 1798 that the entire country was conquered. According to Napoleon, the country was "liberated" to form itself into a new State, which assumed the title of "Republique Helvetique Une et