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World of Stamps
Welcome to this page about the High Face Value Issues of Queen Victoria from Great Britain.
The Five pound orange stamp shown above is one of the most famous and costly stamps from the reign of Queen Victoria.
What was the purpose of such a high face value?
The answer can be found in the postmark. Although the stamp bears the inscription"postage" this stamp was,in fact,used for revenue purposes.
If a value of 2/6d and above is used as the definition of a high value then the first issue was the set issued in 1867.
Although these high face value stamps do not seem high today, they were more than a week's wages for a working man.
Why were they issued and in what circumstancies were they used?
They all have the word "postage" engraved on them but not all were used in this way. There are many stamps of this issue with neat cds cancels that collectors crave,but are these genuine postal use?
On 1st April 1865 the postal rate for inland letters was 1d per 1/2 ounce. This rate continued until 5th October 1871 when the new rate started at 1d per ounce. The post office did not carry parcels until1st August 1883. Before then private companies and railways delivered parcels. The introductory rate was 3d per 1lb. With these rates why were such high values required?
A look at the postmarks on the above stamps give a good clue. These ones were not used for postage but for tax,or revenue purposes. Theses cancels show "stock exchange" in the cancel. In such cases these stamps were used to pay the tax on the dealing of stocks. The amount due would depend on the number and value of trades and how often the tax was paid. Sometimes a postmark will show the city in which the stamp was cancelled but no other details. It is difficult to proof such stamps were used for tax purposes.
1867 High Value Issue
It was not just the high values that were used at the stock exchange. Lower values were used to pay the smaller amounts due.
Import Tax.
During the Victorian,and the later Edwardian period,many customers on the mainland ordered cigars and tobacco from Channel Island suppliers. Tax on such imports could be paid in two ways"
when ordering the goods or on delivery. This explains why many Edwardian high face value stamps have either Guernsey or Jersey postmarks. Ports of entry are another clue to such use and postmarks with,for example,Cardiff Docks are examples.
Parcel Cancels.
There was genuine postage use of the high face values by their use on parcels. These are usually rectangular black cancels. Many of the stamps used on parcels have a blue crayon registration mark due to the value of the package.
Of course other well-known cancel types can be found showing postal use. The duplex and roller cancels.
It is obvious that the revenue cancels show the stamp off better but some collectors prefer genuine postal use.Each to their own.
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