Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
A young Queen Victoria, the word POSTAGE and no country name: that is the United Kingdom.
- 1POSTAGE: no country named
- 2The monarch’s head is the clue
- Inscription
- POSTAGE · ONE PENNY
- Meaning
- No country name at all: the world’s first stamp needed none, and British stamps still show only the monarch’s head.
- Issued by
- United Kingdom
- Today
- the United Kingdom Flag of United Kingdom
- Year
- 1840. Issued 1 May 1840, valid from 6 May 1840.
- Made by
- William Wyon (portrait after a medal head, died 1851); Charles Heath and Frederick Heath (engraving)
One fact
The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. The letters in the bottom corners show where each stamp sat on the sheet.
Source and public-domain rule
UK Crown copyright, published more than 50 years ago. Made for the General Post Office and published in 1840: Crown copyright ended in 1890. The engravers were adults in 1840, so they also died far more than 70 years ago. Stamps made by the General Post Office before 1 October 1969 are Crown copyright works; Crown copyright in a work published commercially ends 50 years after the end of the year of publication. Legal sources: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s. 163(3)(b).
Scan: Penny black.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1180449762), licence templates {{PD-UKGov}}. Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 c7772b3e160d…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
