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When Great Britain’s first postage stamp was issued in 1840, there
were separate stamps for revenue purposes. In 1881, the two
were unified and, starting in 1883, most definitives had
both POSTAGE and REVENUE inscribed on them because they
could be used for either purpose. (Postage stamps could be
used as revenue stamps until about 1970, although not all
postage stamps had the word “revenue” on them.)
Shown here is a George V 1d Downey Head definitive used to
pay the duty on a receipt in 1913. It is cancelled by the
signature. Of interest is the expression of the amount in
guineas, a term that became obsolete when decimal currency
was introduced. A guinea was 21 shillings, or one pound and
one shilling because a pound was equal to 20 shillings. The
amount in numerals below is 39 pounds and 18 shillings, the
equivalent of 38 guineas.
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