How do I know if a stamp is Victorian?

The portrait is the key. A Victorian stamp shows Queen Victoria, young or older, not a later monarch, and carries pre-decimal currency and no country name.

What are the three kinds of Victorian stamp?

Line-engraved (the penny issues), embossed (the high values of 1847 to 1854), and surface-printed (the bulk of the reign from 1855).

Identification

How to Identify Queen Victoria Stamps

Q: Are Victorian stamps valuable?

Most are common and modest, while a few, the high values and certain scarce issues, are valuable. Condition matters more than age. See our Queen Victoria stamp values guide.

A Queen Victoria stamp shows the head of Victoria, as a young or older portrait, with no country name, and a denomination in pre-decimal currency (pounds, shillings and pence). Victorian stamps fall into three kinds: line-engraved (the famous penny issues), embossed (the high values), and surface-printed (the bulk of the reign). The portrait, the absence of a country name and the old currency together mark a stamp as Victorian.

At a glance

Reign1840 to 1901

The headQueen Victoria, young or older

Country nameNone, as on all British stamps

CurrencyPre-decimal: pounds, shillings and pence

Three kindsLine-engraved, embossed, surface-printed

Confirm withA catalogue

Recognising a Victorian stamp

The surest signs are the portrait and the currency. A Victorian stamp shows the head of Queen Victoria, from the youthful profile of the earliest issues to the older portrait of later ones, and it carries no country name, like all British stamps.

The denomination is in pre-decimal currency, pence and shillings, never decimal. Together these place a stamp firmly in the reign. Our guide to identifying British stamps explains how the monarch's head identifies British stamps generally.

The three kinds of Victorian stamp

Place which you have

Three quite distinct kinds

Each printed differently, and recognised differently.

Line-engraved

The famous penny issues, the Penny Black, Penny Red and Twopenny Blue, printed by engraving, with check letters in the corners.

Embossed

The handsome high values of 1847 to 1854, printed in relief so the design stands slightly proud of the paper.

Surface-printed

The bulk of the reign from 1855, in many designs and colours, including the great high values such as the £5 Orange.

See our Penny Black and Penny Red guides, and our Queen Victoria stamp values guide for what each kind is worth.

Telling Victorian from later reigns

The portrait is the deciding clue

It is easy to mistake an early twentieth-century stamp for a Victorian one, so the portrait is the deciding clue: Victoria, not Edward VII, George V or a later monarch. The style of the head, the design and the printing also help, and the currency confirms only that a stamp is pre-decimal, not which reign. Our guide to identifying British stamps lists the monarchs and their dates.

A note on value

Recognising a Victorian stamp naturally leads to the question of value. Most Victorian stamps are common and modest, while a few, the high values and certain scarce issues, are valuable. Condition matters more than age. Our guide to Queen Victoria stamp values sets out the figures.

Frequently asked questions

Look for the head of Victoria, no country name, and a denomination in pre-decimal currency. Then place it among the three kinds: line-engraved, embossed or surface-printed.

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