British Queens on stamps
Stamps are essential items that are used by ordinary people to send letters or postcards. This is their primary function. But stamps can be also more valuable than just a piece of paper for mailing. And here we can already speak about one of the most exciting and interesting hobbies- stamp collecting. Philately enthusiasts are eager to add original and even unique items on particular themes to their collections. These may be issues depicting animals, historical events, sport activities, famous people, politicians etc.
One of the most popular personalities that philately lovers want to see on their stamps is the Queen. In the history of Great Britain there were two outstanding Queens (Victoria and Elizabeth II). These monarchs have been commemorated with a great number of philatelic items, which are often worth a fortune nowadays. That is why stamp collectors do not cease searching for stamps with Queens’ images to decorate their philatelic albums and to add some chic to them.
Let’s get acquainted with the most beautiful stamps depicting gracious and famous British Queens that have been honored with a spectacular variety of interesting philatelic items till today.
First Queen’s appearance on a stamp
Queen Victoria stamps are highly sought after. Some of them, especially in pristine condition, are worth a lot of money. But let's return to the first ever issued postage stamp that contains the image of highly honored British Queen Victoria and trace the history of this unique item.
Queen Victoria ruled the country when modern postage stamps were introduced in 1840. This great personality served as the monarch of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. She was the longest serving monarch in history and under her reign Great Britain became more culturally as well as industrially expanded. During this time other progressions were made such as the establishment of a constitutional monarchy etc.
Essentially, Queen Victoria provided stability to Great Britain and its immense empire during an era of great social and technological change. She prompted the postal service to create a stamp in her honour to commemorate all of her achievements.
Real philately enthusiasts and stamp collectors should be aware of the most outstanding examples of Queen Victoria’s earliest stamps such as Penny Black, Penny Red, Penny Venetian Red, and the Penny Lilac stamps. Each of these items was instituted for different reasons and some of them were in circulation much longer than the others. Along with that, each stamp has individual letters on the corners to denote where it was located on the printing plate.
Penny Black
Penny Black was the first ever issued adhesive stamp. It is considered as one of the most expensive and sought after philatelic item today. Actually this particular stamp put the beginning of the British Postal Service, according to which postage was paid upon delivery of the mail and was charged for the distance that the mail travelled, as well as how much the package cost. There were only few Penny Black stamps issued that is why they are highly appreciated by collectors worldwide.
The only known complete sheet of Penny Black stamps is preserved in the British Postal Museum. It is regularly exhibited to the attention of all those who are interested in philately and postal history of Great Britain. Penny Black stamp is also remarkable for the reason that it features the most recognizable profile of Queen Victoria that often appears on other philatelic items, even on the newest ones.
Penny Red stamps
Penny Red is one more adhesive stamp that depicts the silhouette of famous Queen Victoria. It was released after the triumph of its predecessor – Penny Black – in 1841. Till 1879 the item was regularly redesigned that is one may found some varieties of this issue. The decision to release the stamp with a similar design was conditioned by the fact that a cancellation was hardly seen on a black background of Penny Black. On Penny Red the black cancellation mark was easily read.
As the first Penny Reds had no perforations, they were separated with scissors. For the sake of convenience in 1854 the perforations on the stamps were adopted. Nowadays Penny Red is considered as one of the most valuable British stamps that are highly popular among collectors.
Penny Venetian Red
First Penny Venetian Red was introduced to the British postal system in 1880. Its design was similar to its predecessors in terms of style and purpose. However, one bright difference could be noted – the philatelic item was coloured venetian red. Over 1,5 million stamps were issued for postal purposes, however only few specimens survived. The Penny Venetian Red served for mailing for only one year and was lately replaced by one more Penny stamps variety - the Penny Lilac.
Penny Lilac stamps
Penny Lilac stamps are notable first of all for the fact that this was the last issue introduced under the reign of Queen Victoria. It superseded the short lived Penny Venetian Red because the Customs and Inland Revenue Act of 1881 necessitated new stamps that were also valid as revenue stamps, and so the Penny Lilac was issued in that year, inscribed "POSTAGE AND INLAND REVENUE". All previous stamps had the inscription "POSTAGE". This item served as the standard letter stamp for the remainder of Queen Victoria's reign, and very large quantities were printed.
Other Pennies with Queen Victoria
Although three issues described above were the most popular ones, British Postal Service introduced a number of other stamps that were sold for different prices including, a halfpenny, two pence, and three halfpence. They were widely used and their names were determined based on the colour and cost of each: Two Penny Blue, Halfpenny Rose Red, Three Halfpence Red etc. These stamps had been produced from 1840 to 1891.
Halfpenny Rose Red
The Queen Victoria stamps revolutionised the postal service in the United Kingdom. As the Revenue Act was adopted in the United Kingdom, these issues were the ones that earned income for the postal service and the country, in general.
Queen Elizabeth II stamps
The most outstanding ones
Queen Elizabeth II is considered to be one of the greatest and longest reigning monarchs of Great Britain as well as the Commonwealth reals including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Jamaica. Her reigning began in 1952, thus the new versions of stamps were to enter British Postal Service. The items featuring Queen’s images appear on the regular basis contributing to popularity of this outstanding monarch.
First issues with Queen Elizabeth II
The first ever stamps issued with Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait are known as Wilding philatelic series. It was named so because of photographer Dorothy Wilding who captured the Queen’s image shortly after her coronation. Wilding issues were used until 1967.
From the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign the ultimate approval of a stamp issuance lied with the monarch herself. It means that a particular stamp design should receive Royal approval before being produced.
Since the inception of "The Wildings”, more iterations of Queen Elizabeth II stamps have been produced. There are numerous options when considering purchasing a Queen Elizabeth II stamp including time period, design, and quality of the item, which all influence the final price of the product. Buyers should be aware of the different choices available on the market to ensure they make the best purchasing decision that will suit their needs.
Variations in Machin Issues
The decision to replace the Wildings was made thanks to stamp designers Michael Goaman and Faith Jacques, who insisted that a large Wilding portrait is difficult to place in the frame of such a tiny item as a postage stamp. The fact that the Queen was half turned to the viewer was not satisfactory as well, thus in 1967 the previous stamp design was replaced by the Machin head with the sculptured profile of the Queen.
This was the main reason why the new series of stamps known as Machin was introduced to the British Postal Service. The peculiarity of this issue is that it has very simple design with one solid colour background. Machin stamps were so popular among the British people that they implanted themselves as the most commonly used postage items of the United Kingdom. For this issue the photo with the Queen’s profile wearing a crown was chosen. This particular image had been used for other philatelic items for the next fifteen years.
Although the majority of Machin stamps have the same design, there are many variations available. For example, the background colours as well as the printing methods were regularly changed producing some interesting and collectible specimens. Amongst Queen Elizabeth II stamp specialists, there may be hundreds of varieties that are undetectable to the laymen.
The influence of Machin series on modern postage stamps
Although Machin issue with Queen Elisabeth II profile were introduced many years ago, their design still influences British postage stamps. Perhaps the most interesting use of this iconic Queen's head design may be seen on the latest Post and Go stamps, which many collectors believe will prove to be the start of a new generation of postage stamps where services and values are overprinted at the point of sale on pre-printed stamp designs.
The Queen’s Face Transcends England: Colonial Postage
Not only Great Britain but also its former and current colonies regularly issue postage stamps that feature Queen’s images. These territories have produced a range of interesting items that depict great female monarchs.
The Queen’s portrait on an 1896 postage stamp of Hong Kong, which became a “Crown Colony” in 1842 as an outcome of Britain’s first Opium War with China, closely resembles the portrait of young Victoria that appeared on Penny Black. Framing the head are English words (“Hong Kong” and the postage price) and Chinese characters, showing a blending of cultures. This stamp offers a “miniature message” about colonial loyalty proclaimed to Victoria’s Hong Kong subjects and the world.
Some colonial issues advertise the mother country’s preeminence on a vast imperial stage. Postage stamps of Uganda, a British protectorate from 1894-1962, show a melding of imperial and colonial imagery that stereotypes Africa as “other”. Stereotypical symbols of this East African nation join with the “civilized” mother country on an 1898 stamp, acknowledging Britain’s power and sovereignty.
Some colonial stamps glorify the mother country and Britain’s imperial network by depicting her holdings rather than her visage. An 1898 Canadian Christmas stamp celebrating the inauguration of Imperial Penny Postage demonstrates how some stamps openly proclaimed British imperialism and all that it connoted. This item, designed by Sir William Mulock (a Canadian politician and cabinet member), shows a world map with British colonial holdings colored in bright red. The stamp text emphasizes Britain’s size and stature; “We hold a vaster empire than has been” comes from an ode entitled “A Song of Empire” that Welsh poet Lewis Morris composed in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.
Modern Queen stamps
Many modern British stamps, from the 1960s onward, have a small silhouette of the Queen's head in the corner and no country name printed on the item. There are also many issues with Queen’s portrait introduced by such islands as Jersey, Isle of Man, Falkland Islands, British Virgin Islands, Ascension Islands and other territories such as Gibraltar, Guernsey, Alderney that are under the ruling of UK. The greatest series of modern stamps with Elisabeth II’s portraits was introduced in Royal Mail’s Special Stamp program that has commemorated and celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday. Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gift givers in the U.K. and millions worldwide.
P.S. Interesting fact - The Stamp Without A Name
Great Britain is the only country in the world that does not place its name on the postage stamps. British issues are identified with an image of its reigning monarch. Great Britain was the first country to release an adhesive stamp. Before long many other states began using pre-paid postage items for mail delivery. Today, commemorative and pictorial issues are common in many countries, including UK. On British items, the monarch’s head is always present, though often only in silhouette in the corner of the stamp.
