Penny Lilac (British one‑penny postage stamp)

Design and production

The stamp bears the familiar left‑facing profile of Queen Victoria surrounded by an oval frame with inscription panels indicating the denomination. Its distinctive colour—described contemporarily as lilac—gave the issue its popular name. Multiple printings over two decades produced a variety of minor differences in paper, watermark and perforation, which are used today to identify specific issues and print runs.

Role and historical context

Introduced as a practical workhorse for ordinary postal traffic, the Penny Lilac served the standard letter rate and related postal needs in an era of expanding mail volumes. Because it remained in use until 1901, it represents the late Victorian postal system and the steady, bureaucratic approach to definitive stamps of the period.

Collecting and notable features

Collectors value the Penny Lilac not for rarity but for its many varieties. Important collecting points include differences in watermark, perforation, paper shade, plate flaws and the diversity of postmarks. Specialized catalogues and dealer references list those variants and help determine relative scarcity and value.

• Common study points: watermark type, perforation gauge, printing plate indicators.
• Postmark variety: cancellations illustrate postal routes and rates of the era.
• Abundance: large print runs mean most examples are affordable for collectors.

For further details, images and catalogue entries consult specialist references and online resources such as a general stamp catalogue catalogue entry, national postal histories postal history source and specialist collecting societies collector society.