Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom

The oldest known adhesive stamps of which examples still exist were issued in the 1780s for duties on hats, gloves and perfume.

[1] This was An act for granting to Their Majesties several duties on Vellum, Parchment and Paper for 10 years, towards carrying on the war against France (5 & 6 Will.

Around 10,000 different dies of impressed duty stamps have been used since the 17th century, and these exist with face values of up to £1 million.

Coloured ink in the embossed designs was introduced in the 1850s; initially this was pink but it was changed to vermilion in the 1870s.

A number of different coloured papers were used, including red, green, vermilion and most commonly blue.

The ends of the strip of tin at the back of the document were covered with a small paper seal which bore the royal cypher of the reigning monarch.

[8] There were also specific designs of embossed stamps inscribed for a particular use, examples being Chancery Fee Fund[9] and Consular Service.

[10] In 1853, two 1d revenue stamps with designs depicting Queen Victoria and inscribed Receipt and Draft were issued.

A number of Inland Revenue stamps were issued over the next two decades, both surface printed designs depicting Queen Victoria, as well as embossed adhesives with an underprint.

[1] In 1883–84, a set of stamps known as the Lilac and Green Issue was introduced, and it bore the inscription Postage & Revenue.

These designs depicted Queen Victoria and had a blank tablet at the bottom, which could then be overprinted with an inscription denoting for what the stamp was used for.

[1] Upon the accession of King Edward VII, a set of new designs bearing the portrait of the new monarch was introduced.

[1] Examples of appropriations on the key types include Bankruptcy,[13] Contract Note,[14] Foreign Bill[15] and Passport.

[21] Excise stamps were used to pay the duty on entertainment activities from 1916 to 1958, and were affixed to cinema or event tickets.

These were affixed directly to jars or packets of medicine, and many different types exist, both standard issues as well as appropriated ones with the manufacturer's brand specified on the stamp.

[33] In 1915, two King George V postage and revenue stamps were overprinted to pay for additional medicine duty.

[34] Large-format stamps were also issued to pay duty on cavendish tobacco and coffee mixtures from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries.

[27][35] Duty stamps paying the tax on spirits and wine are still in use as of 2017, and they are affixed or imprinted on the alcohol container.

Sometimes the item itself or its wrapper were imprinted with a revenue stamp, in what may be regarded as the fiscal equivalent of postal stationery.

Examples of this include taxes on:[1] Tickets issued for horse duty in the 18th century are sometimes also regarded and collected as revenue stamps.

[4] Despite being part of the United Kingdom, Ireland had many unique branches of the legal system, and this necessitated the need for some separate revenue stamps.

Impressed duty stamps were introduced in Ireland in 1774, at the time when it was a separate kingdom and a client state of Britain.

The designs of most Irish revenues were very similar to British issues (including many impressed duty stamps, embossed adhesives or key types), but some impressed duty stamps bore Irish symbols such as the harp.

Northern Irish revenues include Civil Service, Dog Licence, Excise and National Insurance stamps, among many others.

[38] A similar situation existed to a lower extent with Scotland, whose legal system had some differences from the rest of the country.

Some stamps are also known overprinted Gaol for cases where fines were paid late and the person was subsequently sent to prison.

[50] Nottinghamshire County Council used one such key type to pay for housing fees and social services in the 1990s.

[1] The Stamp Act brought about the objection of "no taxation without representation", and it was a major contributing factor to the American Revolution.

[59] Early users of adhesive revenue stamps include Jamaica, which issued surface printed revenue stamps in 1855,[58] and the Colony of Natal, which roughly at the same time issued embossed adhesives similar to those used in Britain.

[61] Embossed adhesives were overprinted for use in Barbados,[62] the British Solomon Islands,[63] Jamaica[64] and Trinidad and Tobago.