The Halfpenny Rose Red, first issued on 1 October 1870, was the first halfpenny

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

issued in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The halfpenny stamp was introduced following a reduction in the postal rate for newspapers and postcards. It was designed to be approximately half the size of the corresponding one penny stamp and is notable for being the smallest UK postage stamp ever issued at . The stamps (nicknamed 'Bantams' due to their small size) were printed in sheets of 480 (20 horizontal rows of 24 stamps). They were line engraved and featured a bust of Queen Victoria in profile with '½d' on either side. A plate number was engraved in the design, in the left and right side lace work. The plates were numbered from 1 to 20, but plates 2, 7, 16, 17, and 18 were not completed, plates 21 and 22 were not used and plate 9 is now scarce because it was a rarely used reserve plate. The stamps were watermarked with the word "halfpenny" that extended across three stamps.

Stanley Gibbons Ltd The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...

, ''Specialised Stamp Catalogue Volume 1: Queen Victoria''Halfpenny Rose Red at ''pennyreds''
/ref> The stamp was replaced in 1880 by the surface printed Halfpenny Green stamp.

References

Postage stamps of the United Kingdom Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria {{UK-stub

See also

References