This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of New South Wales, a former British colony now part of Australia.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
Admirals are a series of definitive stamps issued by three countries of the British Commonwealth that show King George V of Great Britain and the British Dominions. The stamps are referred to as the Admirals because King George is depicted in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform. The stamps were issued by Canada in 1911–1928, New Zealand in 1926, and Rhodesia in 1913–24.
The first revenue stamps in the United States were used briefly during colonial times, among the most notable usage involved the Stamp Act. Long after independence, the first revenue stamps printed by the United States government were issued in the midst of the American Civil War, prompted by the urgent need to raise revenue to pay for the great costs it incurred. After the war ended however, revenue stamps and the taxes they represented still continued. Revenue stamps served to pay tax duties on items that came under two main categories, Proprietary and Documentary. Proprietary stamps paid tax duties on goods like alcohol and tobacco, and were also used for various services, while Documentary stamps paid duties on legal documents, mortgage deeds, stocks and a fair number of other legal dealings. Proprietary and Documentary stamps often bore these respective designations, while in several of the issues they shared the same designs, sometimes with minor variations. Beginning in 1862 the first revenue stamps were issued, and would continue to be used for another hundred years and more. For the first twelve years George Washington was the only subject featured on U.S. revenue stamps, when in 1875 an allegorical figure of Liberty finally appeared. Revenue stamps were printed in many varieties and denominations and are widely sought after by collectors and historians. Revenue stamps were finally discontinued on December 31, 1967.
Revenue stamps of Malta were first issued in 1899, when the islands were a British colony. From that year to 1912, all revenue issues were postage stamps overprinted accordingly, that was either done locally or by De La Rue in London. Postage stamps also became valid for fiscal use in 1913, so no new revenues were issued until 1926–1930, when a series of key type stamps depicting King George V were issued. These exist unappropriated for use as general-duty revenues, or with additional inscriptions indicating a specific use; Applications, Contracts, Registers or Stocks & Shares. The only other revenues after this series were £1 stamps depicting George VI and Elizabeth II. Postage stamps remained valid for fiscal use until at least the 1980s.
The Halfpenny Yellow is the first postage stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Malta. Depicting Queen Victoria, it was only valid for local postage and it was originally issued on 1 December 1860. It was the only stamp issued by Malta for two and a half decades, and during this period various reprints were made with differences in colour shade, perforation and watermark. When control of Malta's postal service was transferred to the island's colonial government on 1 January 1885, the stamp was withdrawn and it was replaced by a set of definitive stamps.
The Australian state of Tasmania issued adhesive revenue stamps from 1863 to 1998, although impressed stamps had appeared briefly in the 1820s. There were general revenue and stamp duty issues, as well as a number of specific issues for various taxes.
The St Paul's Shipwreck 10/- black is a postage and revenue stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Malta on 6 March 1919, and it is generally considered to be the country's rarest and most expensive stamp. It is rare because a very limited quantity of 1530 stamps was printed and it was inadvertently issued prematurely by the Post Office.
Cape of Good Hope issued revenue stamps from 1864 to 1961. There were a number of different stamps for several taxes.
New Zealand first issued revenue stamps on 1 January 1867 and their general use continued until the early 1950s. The only Revenue Stamp series still in use today is the Game Bird Habitat stamp which is used for payment of the Gun License for the duck shooting season which begins the first weekend of May. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.
Kenya, formerly known as British East Africa issued revenue stamps since 1891. There were numerous types of revenue stamps for a variety of taxes and fees. Also valid for fiscal use in Kenya were postage stamps issued by the following entities:
Revenue stamps of Jamaica were first issued in 1855. There were various types of fiscal stamps for different taxes.
Hong Kong issued revenue stamps from 1867 to the 1990s, both when it was a British colony as well as when it was under Japanese occupation.
Malaysia first issued revenue stamps as the Straits Settlements in 1863, and continues to do so to this day. Over the years, a number of entities in modern Malaysia have issued revenue stamps.
Revenue stamps of Fiji were first issued in 1871 or 1872, when the Fiji islands were an independent kingdom. The first revenue stamps consisted of postage stamps overprinted with the letter D.
Revenue stamps of Seychelles were first issued in 1893, when the islands were a dependency of the British Crown Colony of Mauritius. The first stamps were Mauritius Internal Revenue stamps depicting Queen Victoria overprinted for use in Seychelles, and Bill stamps were also similarly overprinted. Postage stamps depicting Victoria or Edward VII were overprinted for fiscal use at various points between 1894 and 1904, while surcharges on Bill stamps were made in around 1897–98.
Revenue stamps of Montserrat were first issued in 1866, ten years before the island issued its first postage stamps. The island only issued two different designs of revenue stamps, but postage stamps were widely used for fiscal purposes and are still used as such today.
The Melita issue is a series of dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps issued by the Crown Colony of Malta between 1922 and 1926, depicting the national personification Melita. They were commemorative stamps since they celebrated the islands' new status as a self-governing colony following a new constitution in 1921, but also a definitive issue intended for regular use over an extended period of time.
Revenue stamps of Guyana refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which have been issued by Guyana since its independence in 1966. Prior to independence, the country was known as British Guiana, and it had issued its own revenue stamps since the 19th century. Guyana used dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps until 1977, and it issued revenue-only stamps between 1975 and the 2000s. The country has also issued National Insurance stamps, labels for airport departure tax and excise stamps for cigarettes and alcohol.
Revenue stamps of Dominica were first issued in 1877, when the island was under British rule. Dominica issued very few revenue stamps, but dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were widely used for fiscal purposes.
