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Penny Black
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public Mail, postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May. The stamp features a profile of Queen Victoria. In 1837, British postal rates were high, complex and anomalous. To simplify matters, Sir Rowland Hill proposed an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage. At the time it was normal for the recipient to pay postage on delivery, charged by the sheet and on distance travelled. By contrast, the Penny Black allowed letters of up to to be delivered at a flat rate of one penny, regardless of distance. Treasury competition On 13 February 1837, Sir Rowland Hill proposed to a government enquiry both the idea of a pre-paid Postage stamp, stamp and a pre-paid envelope, a separate sheet folded to form an enclosure for carrying letters. Hill was given a two-year contract to run the new system, and together with Henry Cole (inventor), Henr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Definitive Stamp
A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in contrast to a "provisional stamp", one that is issued for a temporary period until regular stamps are available, or a "commemorative stamp", a stamp "issued to honor a person or mark a special event" available only for a limited time. Commonly, a definitive issue or series includes stamps in a range of Denomination (postage stamp), denominations sufficient to cover current postal rates. An "issue" generally means a set that is put on sale all at the same time, while a "series" is spread out over several years, but the terms are not precise. Additional stamps in a series may be produced as needed by changes in postal rates; nevertheless some values may be permanently available, regardless of prevailing rates; examples include 1c or 1p and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Heath
Charles Theodosius Heath (1 March 1785 – 18 November 1848) was a British Engraving, engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator. Life and career He was the illegitimate son of James Heath (engraver), James Heath, a successful engraver who enjoyed the patronage of King George III of the United Kingdom, George III and successive monarchs. Early in life he became a fellow of the Society of British Artists, and contributed for some years to their exhibitions. The American connection Jacob Perkins the American inventor developed siderography, a steel engraving technique, and in 1809 met Joseph Chessborough Dyer, an American who moved to England and acted as Perkins's agent. Perkins went to England in 1819, with his eldest son Ebenezer and associates, to bid for a Bank of England contract to print banknotes. He gained the contract. Heath had encouraged Perkins to come to England. From 1819 Charles Heath and then (1820) his half-brother George Heath (1779� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bath, Somerset
Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, west of London and southeast of Bristol. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later added to the transnational World Heritage Site known as the "Great Spa Towns of Europe" in 2021. Bath is also the largest city and settlement in Somerset. The city became a spa with the Latin name ' ("the waters of Sulis") 60 AD when the Romans built Roman Baths (Bath), baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although List of geothermal springs in the United Kingdom, hot springs were known even before then. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two Penny Blue
The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official postage stamp, produced in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and issued after the Penny Black. Initial printing took place from 1 May 1840, and in all 6,460,000 were printed from two plates until 29 August. Officially the stamps were valid for postage from 6 May. It was first sold to the public at the London Inland revenue office on 6 May 1840. Except for its denomination, the design is exactly the same as the penny black and was struck from the same die. It was originally intended that the 2d blue be issued at the same time as the 1d black; the earliest postmark seen on one of these is 6 May 1840. The first issues of this value (intended for double rate letters), were printed from plates 1 and 2. The printing plates were destroyed in 1843. Copies of the stamp are now significantly rarer and more expensive than the Penny Black. Later when the colours of the stamps were being revised, the ink ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shilling (British Coin)
The United Kingdom, British shilling, abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of Coins of the United Kingdom, sterling coinage worth of one Pound (currency), pound, or twelve Penny (British pre-decimal coin), pre-decimal pence. It was first minted in the reign of Henry VII of England, Henry VII as the testoon, and became known as the shilling, from the Old English , sometime in the mid-16th century. It circulated until 1990. It was commonly known as a ''bob'', as in "ten-bob note", also the Scout Association's Bob a Job Week. The shilling was last minted in 1966, prior to Decimal Day, decimalisation. Following decimal day on 15 February 1971 the coin had a value of Five pence (British coin), five new pence, and a new coin of the same value but labelled as "five new pence" (later removing "new" after 1980) was minted with the same size as the shilling until 1990. The five-pence coin was reduced in size in 1990, and the old larger five-pence coins and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pound Sterling
Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling. Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and the renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling banknotes issu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penny
A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is the formal name of the British penny ( p) and the '' de facto'' name of the American one-cent coin (abbr. ¢). ''Penny'' is also the informal name of the cent unit of account in Canada, although the production of one-cent coins was ended in 2012. The name ''penny'' is also used in reference to various historical currencies, also derived from the Carolingian system, such as the French denier and the German pfennig. It may also be informally used to refer to any similar smallest-denomination coin, such as the euro cent or Chinese fen. The Carolingian penny was originally a 0.940-fine silver coin, weighing pound. It was adopted by Offa of Mercia and other English kings and remained the principal currency in Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maltese Cross
The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight-pointed crosses in the 16th century. Although chiefly associated with the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John, now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and by extension with the island of Malta, it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period, notably the Order of Saint Stephen, the city of Amalfi, the Polish Order of the White Eagle (1709), the Prussian order ''Pour le Mérite'' (1740), and the Bavarian Military Merit Order (1866). Unicode defines a character named "Maltese cross" in the Dingbats range at code point U+2720 (✠); however, most computer fonts render the code point as a cross pattée. History The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engine Turning
Engine turning is a form of ornamental turning. The finishing technique may use lathes or engines to produce a pattern. Aluminium is often the metal chosen to decorate. The technique has been used in various industries, including aircraft and document verification. Description Engine turning is a form of ornamental turning. The technique geometrically applies a single-point cutting tool to produce a decorative metal surface finish pattern. Traditionally, engine turning referred to Guilloché engraving. In the 20th century, it also came to refer to the different process of ' (also known as spotting, jewelling, perlage), which is a fine geometric pattern of overlapping circles abraded onto the surface. Equipment Guilloché engine turning may be done with various machines, including rose engines, straight-line engines, brocade engines, and ornamental turning lathes. Perlage uses an abrasive rotating disk or dowel. Material Aluminium is often the metal chosen to decorat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revenue Stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things. Typically, businesses purchase the stamps from the government (thereby paying the tax), and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale, or in the case of documents, as part of filling out the form. Revenue stamps often look very similar to postage stamps, and in some countries and time periods it has been possible to use postage stamps for revenue purposes, and vice versa. Some countries also issued dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps. Description Revenue stamps are stamps used to designate collected taxes and fees. They are issued by governments, national and local, and by official bodies of various kinds. They take many forms and may be gummed and ungummed, perforated or imperforate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silhouette
A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouette is usually presented on a light background, usually white, or none at all. The silhouette differs from an line art, outline, which depicts the edge of an object in a linear form, while a silhouette appears as a solid shape. Silhouette images may be created in any visual artistic medium, but were first used to describe pieces of cut paper, which were then stuck to a backing in a contrasting colour, and often framed. Cutting portraits, generally in profile, from black card became popular in the mid-18th century, though the term ''silhouette'' was seldom used until the early decades of the 19th century, and the tradition has continued under this name into the 21st century. They represented a cheap but effective alternative to the portrait m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, historic centre of London, though it forms only a small part of the larger Greater London metropolis. The City of London had a population of 8,583 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, however over 500,000 people were employed in the area as of 2019. It has an area of , the source of the nickname ''the Square Mile''. The City is a unique local authority area governed by the City of London Corporation, which is led by the Lord Mayor of London, Lord Mayor of the City of London. Together with Canary Wharf and the West End of London, West End, the City of London forms the primary central business district of London, which is one of the leading financial centres of the world. The Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange are both ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
