Parcel stamp

It is to be distinguished from a postage stamp used to pay the cost of posting a parcel, although there may no practical distinction as far as the sender is concerned.

The international parcel post service was established by the Universal Postal Union on 1 October 1881 (Great Britain, India, The Netherlands and Persia, 1 April 1882), following the agreement of 1880 in Paris.

A wide variety of parcel stamps have been issued in Britain by private road operators including bus and tram companies.

[4] The first Italian parcel stamps were issued in 1884 and since 1914 they have been in two parts[3] marked pacchi postali.

[3] In this series, which was soon discontinued, the 20-cent value is noteworthy for being the first postage stamp in the world to depict an airplane.

A Belgian railway parcel stamp from the 1879-82 series used in 1881 at Verviers.
British Great Western Railway newspaper parcel stamps. These are regarded as cinderella stamps .
A British 1901 parcel label with two Victorian stamps overprinted Govt. Parcels .
Road transport private parcel service stamps from Great Britain. Circa mid twentieth century.
A British 1971 private parcel stamp from the 1971 Postal Strike .
An Italian 10c parcel stamp in two pieces marked pacchi postali .