Key type stamps are stamps of a uniform design that were widely used by colonial territories in the 19th and 20th centuries.

An unused Trinidad key type stamp showing Britannia
A used German key type stamp for Togo
An 1892 4c stamp for Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) of the Navigation & Commerce key type series
These mint British stamps for use in Ceylon exemplify the key plate approach.

Origins

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The idea was invented by Perkins Bacon who used it to print stamps for Trinidad (1851), Barbados (1852) and Mauritius (1858), all featuring the same Britannia design.

Key plate stamps

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The idea was refined by De La Rue in 1879 when the printing process was split into two through the use of a key plate (or head plate) for the bulk of the design and a separate duty plate for the name of the colony and the value.[1] These are often known as key plate stamps. While key type stamps are always of one colour, key plate stamps are bi-coloured. This method has the advantage that most of the design remains the same in each of a stamp series with only the value, name and colours changing.

Key plate stamps were used extensively by Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal.[2]

Revenues

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Key plates were also a ubiquitous feature of revenue stamps of Burma/Myanmar, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Malta and Pakistan. These had a tablet at the bottom, and this was appropriated (overprinted to indicate the type of use), e.g. Consular Service, Contract Note, Notarial, Special Adhesive, Stocks & Shares. Malta was the only country to also issue unappropriated stamps (with the bottom tablet still blank).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mackay, James. Stamp Collecting: Philatelic Terms Illustrated. 4th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2003, p.76. ISBN 0-85259-557-3
  2. ^ Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p.165.

Further reading

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