Two penny blue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Two Penny Blue (1841 second 'white line' issue) |
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| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| Date of production | 6 May 1840 |
| Perforation | None |
| Depicts | Queen Victoria |
| Notability | World's second official postage stamp |
| Face value | 2d |
The Two Penny Blue is a famous old stamp from the United Kingdom. It was the second official postage stamp ever made! It came out right after the even more famous Penny Black stamp.
This stamp was first printed on May 1, 1840. About 6.46 million of these stamps were made. Even though they were printed on May 1, they officially became valid for mailing letters on May 6. However, you could only buy them starting May 8. The very first ones were sold in London on May 6, 1840. The design of the Two Penny Blue looks exactly like the Penny Black, except for its value. Both stamps were made using the same original design plate.
It was actually planned for the Two Penny Blue to be released at the same time as the Penny Black. The earliest postmark found on a Two Penny Blue stamp is from May 6, 1840. The first Two Penny Blue stamps were used for letters that weighed more, costing double the price of a Penny Black letter. The special plates used to print these first stamps were destroyed in 1843. Because of this, original 1840 Two Penny Blue stamps are now much harder to find and more expensive than the Penny Black.
Contents
Understanding the Two Penny Blue Stamp
Why Was the Two Penny Blue Created?
The Penny Black stamp allowed you to send a letter weighing up to half an ounce anywhere in Britain or Ireland. The Two Penny Blue was made for heavier letters. It allowed a letter to be sent if it weighed up to a full ounce. This made it easier for people to send different sized letters.
How to Spot a Later Two Penny Blue Stamp
Later on, the colors of the stamps were changed. A new blue ink was used for the two pence value. Since the new stamps looked very similar to the original ones, a small change was added. A horizontal line was put at the top and bottom of the stamp's design. This helped people easily tell the newer stamps apart from the older ones.
Printing of these updated stamps began on February 27, 1841. They went on sale in March of that year. These stamps are often called the white lines added issue. They are much more common than the very first stamps printed in 1840.
Variations in Two Penny Blue Stamps
Over the years, many small differences appeared in the Two Penny Blue stamps made after 1841. These changes could be in the watermark (a faint design in the paper), the perforations (the small holes that help you tear stamps apart), the type of paper used, or other small design variations. In total, 15 different printing plates were used for this stamp design between 1840 and 1880.
See also
In Spanish: Two pence blue para niños
- Penny Black
- Penny Blue
- Penny Red
- VR official
- List of British postage stamps
