The Penny Red

Using the same basic design as the "Penny Black," considered to be the world's first postage stamp, the "Penny Red" was issued in 1841 and was the country's principal stamp until 1871.

The problem with the penny black was its color, which made it difficult to cancel with traditional black ink. Black cancels showed up beautifully on the penny reds.(Scott #3), which were issued on bluish paper.

Alphabetic letters in the lower left and right corners indicated the position and row of each individual stamp. For example, in the illustrated copy herein, the "D" in the lower left indicates the stamp was in position 4 from the left side of the second row (indicted by the "B" in the lower right).

The stamp features a bust of Queen Victoria (1819-1901); the design underwent a number of changes during its use, most notably the addition of letters in the upper corners in 1971.