New Zealand postage stamps year 1873 – 1878 Used
📮 New Zealand Postage Stamps — 1873 to 1878
🗓 1 January 1873 — ½d Newspaper Postage Stamp
- Issue: ½ penny (½d) Newspaper stamp featuring a side-view portrait of Queen Victoria.
- Significance: This was the first stamp both designed and printed in New Zealand (though plates were prepared in Wellington). Before this, stamps were mainly printed in England.
- Use: Designed primarily to prepay the postal rate on newspapers (hence called Newspaper Postage).
📌 This issue marks the transition from the earlier Full Face Queen issues (1855–1872) to the later Sideface portrait stamps used for general postage.
📬 1873–1875 — Early Queen Victoria Sideface Issues
From 1873 through 1875, stamps continued with the Queen Victoria sideface portrait in various perforations and watermarks:
- ½d values (rose/rose shades) with NZ watermark and perf. varieties were used in 1873–1875.
- This design continued the Sideface Queen series and replaced the earlier Full Face Queen issues.
- Multiple printings and variations exist, often differing by watermark or perforation.
🪪 1874 – 1878 — “NEW ZEALAND POSTAGE” Inscription Definitives
Starting around 1874, a broader set of definitive stamps was issued with “NEW ZEALAND POSTAGE” inscriptions and the Queen’s profile:
Typical denominations produced in this period include:
- 1d (one penny) – violet
- 2d (two pence) – rose
- 3d (three pence) – dark brown
- 4d (four pence) – purple-red
- 6d (six pence) – blue
- 1s (one shilling) – green
📌 These stamps were part of the standard definitive sets used for everyday postal rates during the mid-1870s.
🏅 1 July 1878 — Higher-Value Local Issues
- In 1878, higher-value stamps such as 2s (two shillings) and 5s (five shillings) were issued — these were the first NZ postage stamps both designed and wholly produced locally.
- These high-value definitives were important for larger postal charges and represented further maturation of NZ’s own stamp production.
📌 Summary of Key Stamp Types (1873–1878)
| Year | Stamp Type / Set | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1873 | ½d Newspaper Postage | First NZ-produced stamp with sideface Queen Victoria (for newspaper postage) |
| 1873–1875 | Sideface Queen (½d rose varieties) | Continued use and variations of Queen Victoria profile stamps |
| 1874–1878 | Definitives with “New Zealand Postage” | Standard postage values 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 1s. |
| 1878 | High-Value (2s and 5s) | First locally designed and fully printed definitives of higher denomination. |
