The postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 issued in 1887 are known as the "Jubilee" issue because they were issued during the year of the Golden Jubilee

Golden Jubilee

A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...

 of the accession of Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 to the throne in 1837. They continued in use throughout the remainder of Victoria's reign, and many of the designs were reused in the stamps of Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

. They include the first British stamps to be printed in two colours.

Origins

The variety of colours and designs was partly in response to the much-disliked "Lilac and Green

Queen Victoria Lilac and Green Issue

The postage stamps of the United Kingdom issued in 1883 and 1884 are known as the “Lilac and Green” issue because they were only printed in those two colours; lilac being used for the ½d, 2d, 2½d, 3d values and dull green for the 4d, 5d, 6d, 9d and 1s....

" issues of 1883-1884. The 1884 Stamp Committee was formed to make decisions about improved replacements. After several meetings, and considering a number of essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

s by De La Rue

De La Rue

De La Rue plc is a British security printing, papermaking and cash handling systems company headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire. It also has a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, and other facilities at Loughton, Essex and Bathford, Somerset...

 (many of which survive in the marketplace), they produced a report recommending the use of surface printing

Surface printing

Surface printing is the oldest automated printing method still in use today. Surface machines lay down very heavy amounts of ink. Because the ink is pushed onto the paper, the images are not as crisp as the other methods. Also, there is no drying stage between laying down each color, so the...

, two colours in fugitive inks, coloured paper, and the dropping of the corner letters that had distinguished stamps on the sheet.

Issue

The 1887 issue generally followed the Committee's recommendations and the ½d, 1½d, 2d, 2½d, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 9d and 1s values were put on sale 1 January 1887. A 10d value followed on 24 February 1890 and the 4½d value on 15 September 1892. The stamps continued in use largely unchanged, though specialists identify shade variations, to the end of the century. From 1 January 1900, the halfpenny value was reprinted in blue-green, and the one-shilling value went to a two-colour scheme of carmine rose and green from 11 July 1900.

Values

Because of the lengthy period of use, the lower values of the issue are still quite common today and used copies are worth only a few pennies. Higher values generally rise in price according to the denomination, topped by an unused 1-shilling value, at about 100 pounds. Double impressions of the halfpenny vermilion are known, and go for several thousand pounds.