Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

On the 178th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s Coronation, www.mintageworld.com launched a docudrama on the history of the various stamps,coins & notes launched in the Victorian era...
 
28th June 2016,Mumbai  : Victoria  (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the most prominent queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from  20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she had the additional title of the “First Empress of India”. Publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
 
She was coronated on the morning of 28th June 1838 at the Westminster Abbey. Over 400,000 visitors came to London for the celebrations. She became the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham Palace. It was an important day, significant not only to the history of Great Britain but also of the world. The ostentatious Coronation gave the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland a new Queen. The Golden age of England, “The Victorian Era” began under her reign of 63 years and 7 months.
 
The Victorian era coins, stamps & currency notes truly created history portraying the vast conquests of Great Britain all over the world. From Royal pageantry to Common interests, it depicted them all.
 
It all began with the marvelous Coronation of Her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria - one of Great Britain’s most affluent pageantry. The Queen has been represented in many coins, stamps and currency notes, the choices are never-ending! We picked out few most interesting ones with unique historical importance for your reference.
 
“The Penny Black Stamp : In May 1840, the British Postal Service sold their first adhesive stamp. Its value was 1 Pence and was printed in black, and so began the legacy of the “Penny Black”. This stamp depicted the profile of Queen Victoria which was designed by William Wyon. The stamp was a major hit ! All of a sudden senders and receivers across Great Britain felt as if the World was in the palm of their hands. By 1841, around 70 million stamps were issued and the sales continued to double.
 
However, the Penny Black as amazing as it was unfortunately did not paint a hunky- dory image. Due to the black background the cancellation mark was often not visible and the Maltese cross could be removed without damaging the label which made it a piece of cake to re-use the stamp. Within a year, the stamps were withdrawn and the printing ink was changed to a reddish colour.
 
The penny reds made their humble entrance, but held a grand legacy. It was Great Britain’s longest running stamps from 1841 to 1879, and in March 2016, an incredibly rare penny red became United Kingdom’s second most valuable stamp, it was sold for a gob smacking 495,000 pounds.
 
The 1854  4 Annas stamps of India: These stamps were unique with its red octagonal frame (the distinctive shape suggested by the current 6d, 10d and 1s embossed stamps of Great Britain) and blue central head of Queen Victoria, it was the first bi - colored stamp of the British Empire, and it had to be printed at two operations. The inverted 4 Annas Indian stamps are one of the most rare and coveted stamps. An invert error occurred during production, showing the head "upside down." Only after many years, the error was discovered and the stamps were retrieved. The price value for the inverted head stamps was over 70,000 pounds in 2013. These stamps are often forged due to their high price and nature of rarity.
 
“Mauritius One Penny Red” and the “Two Pence blue” Stamps : The stamps of Great Britain marked their prominence in many parts of the world – One of Great Britain’s Early Colony; an island country named Mauritius produced rare and exquisite stamps which are even today renowned throughout the world.
 
Barnard was a printer and an engraver who designed the two stamps. These stamps depicted the head profile of Queen Victoria based on the designs of the Penny Black stamps.  500 of each value were printed from a single plate,
 
The first issues had the wording “Post Office”, which was issued in 1857, but the following issue in 1858 the wording, was replaced with “Post Paid”.
 
Many legends and stories arose about the words “Post Office” being an error due to carelessness. However, many Philatelic Scholars confirm that the “Post Office” inscription is the real deal.
 
Over the years, these stamps were sold for increasing and astronomical prices because of its imperfect unique value. There are only 26 known pieces of the Mauritius Post Office stamps that exist today: 14 one-penny and 12 two-penny stamps. In 2011, a two-penny blue Mauritius Post Office stamp was sold at an auction for £1.05 million (US$1.67 million) in the UK. King George V paid 1450 pounds for an unused two pence at an auction in 1904.
 
Currency Notes :
During the British Raj, the paper currency act of 1861 was introduced, which gave the British Government a monopoly on note issue throughout the Raj. Uniface notes with the portrait of Queen Victoria were printed; the watermark consisted of wavy lines and carried two signatures, the denomination, and the words “Government of India Rupees”
 
The concept of bank notes was relatively new at that time, it began as promissory notes, and very few countries from 54 Commonwealth Colonies issued currency notes with the portrait of Queen Victoria.
 
Strangely all notes that were printed from the years 1862 to 1873 bore the year of 1862 as its minting year. Some believe the dot patterns on the reverse of the Rupees formed a code to indicate the exact year of its minting.
 
Canada was one the countries, which issued $4 banknote which had the images of Queen Victoria and justice personified, released in 1859.
 
The Queen was also an emblematic of Great Britain: an enthusiastic supporter of the British Empire, which stretched across the globe and earned the adage:  “The Sun never sets on the British Empire.”
 
To watch the Docudramas , Please click on the following links : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5p928Wgd0U
 
www.mintageworld.com : is the World’s 1st online museum for Vintage Coins, Stamps & Currency Notes, In the near future they will launch many docudramas based on global historical dates, events and personalities