Official mail

Much later, one of the functions of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post postal system was to carry the mail of Emperor Maximilian I in the Holy Roman Empire.

In the UK the rules were changed requiring the sender to indicate the date and place of mailing in addition to their signature, but this too was abused and this led, in part, to the introduction of postage stamps.

or On His/Her Majesty's Service, the United States uses the silhouette of an eagle, Ethiopia shows a hand holding a cleft stick with a letter is wedged into it,[3] while Ireland uses a harp.

The VR Official utilised the same design as the Penny Black except that the stars in the top corners were removed and replaced by the letters V and R that gives the stamp its common name.

The notice charged the postmasters to note the letters in the upper corners of the stamp that was to be: applied to the correspondence of Public Departments, and other Persons formerly enjoying the privilege of Official Franking.

[5] In March 1877, stamps became unnecessary due to a congressional act allowing government departments to use their own envelopes endorsed "Official Business".