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1d. Queen Victoria. 2 1/2d. (Birmingham, March 1886)
Surface Printed (or Typographed) British stamps were first produced in 1855, and this printing methodology was used for all the definitive postage stamps above the Two Pence denomination. All of these surface printed stamps were produced by Thomas De La Rue & Co.
Until 1880, the Line Engraved 1/2 Penny through 2 Pence denominations continued to be produced by Perkins, Bacon & Co., as they had been since 1840.
After 1880, Thomas De La Rue & Co. took over the production of ALL the postage stamps of Queen Victoria, and from that time, all of the definitive British stamps were surface-printed (typographed).
Ten different paper watermarks were used for the production of the surface-printed postage stamps, between 1855 and 1901. As the technical characteristics of the stamps are not constant throughout this time period, each of the watermarks will be shown and described along with the particular issues for which they were used.
The 1/2 P. denomination and the "lilac" and "green" denominations were issued in 1883 and 1884. They were also printed on paper with WMK 30 -- the Imperial Crown watermark.
Source : https://www.stamp-collecting-world.com/b...
Collection : XXVI Letters and Postcards