postage stamp

5 In which year was Britain's first adhesive postage stamp the Penny Black issued?

The Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp, was issued on May 1 1840, for use from May 6 of that year.

One - a design entered in an 1839 competition for the world's first adhesive postage stamp - went for pounds 50,700.

The company quickly gained a reputation for innovation, producing the first adhesive postage stamp in 1840.

In the same year, to certify that postage had been paid on a letter, the sender could affix the first adhesive postage stamp.

It was posted just weeks after the official May 6,1840, launch of the first adhesive postage stamp - the Penny Black.

On This Day: 1840: The first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was officially issued.