The History of UK Stamp Prices

bakergoodchild bakergoodchild.co.uk THE HISTORY OF UK STAMP PRICES Whenever we need to send a letter out to someone in the post, we have to attach a stamp on it that proves we have paid the necessary postage price for sending it. But have stamps always been around, and what is the difference in price between the stamps of today and those in the past? The Origins of UK Stamps You might think that stamps were a recent invention, but the concept and subsequent invention occurred 174 years ago! King Henry VIII formed Royal Mail and allows individuals to send letters to each other 1516 Henry Bishop (Postmaster General) invents the "Bishop Mark", a small circle with the day and month stamped inside 1661 FOSTAGE The world's first postage stamp, the "Penny Black", was invented, and senders paid for the postage instead of recipients 1840 ONE PENA Red stamps were used instead of black ones 1841 Ever since then, different stamps have been used depending on who ruled Great Britain at the time The current monarch to grace the stamps of the United Kingdom is Queen Elizabeth II Proof was needed that a letter was sent through the Royal Mail postal system WHY WERE It showed how much the sender (or recipient) had paid for the letter's postage STAMPS INVENTED? They were used across the British Empire as part of the postal system reforms of 1840 Stamps showed a silhouette of the reigning monarch of the British Empire HOW MUCH DID STAMPS ONCE COST? 2x 12 Pence If you wanted recipients to pay, they paid double the price In 1840, a flat fee of 1 shilling (12 pence) for pre-paid envelopes applied £4,000 A mint example of the world's first postage stamp from 1840 fetches around £4,000 today 30 Years Ago 20 Years Ago 10 Years Ago 30 years ago, a First Class stamp cost just 12 pence 20 years ago, it rose to 24 pence 10 years ago, the price increased to 28 pence HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUY A STAMP TODAY? Today, a First Class stamp will set you back 60 pence ĮST As of April 2014, the price for a First Class stamp will rise to 62 pence A Second Class stamp currently costs 50 pence Second Class stamps will also rise, to 53 pence 2ND SOURCES: http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/timeline http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/mar/27/60p-price-stamp-royal-mail http://www.royalmail.com/prices-2013 bakergoodchild bakergoodchild.co.uk