Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a method of paying a fee for postal services. It is usually a small paper rectangle which is attached to an envelope, signifying that the person sending the letter or package has paid for delivery. (Stamps have been issued in other shapes, however: the circular stamps of New Zealand, triangular and pentagonal, and Tonga has issued self-adhesive stamps in the shape of fruit, etc.)

The first postage stamp was the Penny Black issued by the United Kingdom with Queen Victoria on the stamp. Because the United Kingdom issued the first stamps, stamps from the United Kingdom do not have the name of the issuing country. This is true of very few other stamps (an exception is the "bullseye" of Brazil, but it is now illegal for a country other than the U.K. to fail to indicate the country's name on a stamp, although three U.S. stamps were so issued).

Types of postage stamps

• commemorative - are limited runs of stamps designed to commemorate a particular event
• definitive - stamps issued mainly to pay postage often having basic designs and issued over many years. Almost all definitive stamps are the same basic size
• semi-postal / charity stamp - a stamp issued with a face value above the amount needed to pay postage. This extra cost is usually used for charitable purposes such as the Red Cross.

Stamp collecting or philately is a popular hobby. Some small countries such as Lichtenstein are known for their elaborate stamps intended to be collected and which provides a large fraction of the country's governmental revenues.