Penny Black facts for kids

A Penny Black stamp showing Queen Victoria.

A Penny Black stamp with a red mark, called a cancellation.

The Penny Black was the world's very first adhesive postage stamp. This means it was the first stamp that you could stick onto a letter. It was created in the United Kingdom. The stamp was officially released on May 1, 1840. People started using it on May 6 of the same year.

When the Penny Black was used, a red mark was put on it. This mark was called a cancellation. It showed that the stamp had been used. However, this red mark was sometimes hard to see. It could also be removed quite easily. Many Penny Black stamps were made. Because of this, they are not extremely rare today. Over 68 million stamps were printed in total! A Penny Black stamp in perfect condition can still be worth a lot of money.

What is the Penny Black?

The Penny Black is famous for being the first postage stamp you could stick on a letter. Before this stamp, people had to pay for mail in different ways. Sometimes, the person receiving the letter had to pay. This new stamp made sending mail much easier and cheaper for everyone.

Why was it created?

Before the Penny Black, sending letters was often expensive. The cost depended on how far the letter traveled. It also depended on how many pages were in the letter. This system was confusing and unfair. A man named Rowland Hill suggested a new idea. He thought that letters should cost the same no matter how far they went. He also suggested using a small piece of paper that you could stick on the letter to show it was paid for. This idea led to the creation of the Penny Black.

How was it used?

The Penny Black cost one penny. This is why it was called "Penny." It was black in color, which is where the "Black" part of its name comes from. People would buy the stamp and stick it on their letters. Then, they would send their letters through the post office. When the letter arrived, the post office would put a red cancellation mark on the stamp. This mark showed that the stamp had been used. It stopped people from using the same stamp again.

Related stamps

The Penny Black was the first of many stamps. Other famous stamps from that time include the Penny Red and the Two Penny Blue. The Penny Red was created because the red cancellation mark on the Penny Black was hard to see. It was also easy to remove. The Penny Red was printed in a different color. This made the cancellation mark stand out more.

Images for kids

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  Large mint block of the Penny Black

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  The Jacob Perkins' press, which printed the Penny Black and the 2d Blue, in the British Library Philatelic Collections

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  A mint block of six, plate 11

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  The pub sign of the Penny Black pub in Oxfordshire

See also

In Spanish: Penny Black para niños