Great Britain 1870 ½d rose Plate 4, SG49a.
A very fine used imperforate example lettered "AX", neatly cancelled by a N.P.B.O. handstamp.
A major imperforate variety of the famous "Bantam" issue. While the normal perforated Plate 4 is readily available used, imperforate examples are very rare genuinely postally used, the great majority of surviving examples having been preserved unused.
Accompanied by a 1978 Royal Philatelic Society (RPS) Certificate of Authenticity.
SG Catalogue Value: £1,000.
The ½d stamps, first issued on 1 October 1870, were the first halfpenny stamp. It was introduced to cover a reduction in the postal rate for newspapers and postcards. It was designed to be approximately half the size of the penny stamps and is famous for being the smallest British postage stamp ever issued at 17.5mm x 14mm.
The stamps were given the nickname "Bantams" due to their small size. Because of their size, the sheets were perforated from side to side rather than top to bottom, with the A column normally inserted first.
The stamps were watermarked with the word "halfpenny" that extended across three stamps. The ½d rose red stamps were replaced in 1880 by the surface printed halfpenny green stamps.
