The first plates were made by De La Rue before the familiar plate-number/current-number scheme came into effect and were simply numbered as plates 1 thru 25.
| Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1d | 1 | 15 Mar 1855 | 18 Dec 1872 |
| 2d | 2 | 13 Oct 1855 | “ |
| 3d | 3 | 14 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 4d | 4 | 7 Nov 1855 | “ |
| 6d | 5 | 15 Mar 1855 | “ |
| 8d | 6 | 13 Oct 1855 | “ |
| 9d | 7 | 14 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 1/- | 8 | 5 Apr 1855 | “ |
| 1/4 | 9 | 29 Oct 1855 | “ |
| 1/8 | 10 | 7 Nov 1855 | “ |
| 2/- | 11 | 15 May 1855 | “ |
| 2/6 | 12 | 7 Nov 1855 | “ |
| 3/- | 13 | 5 Apr 1855 | 18 Dec 1872 |
| 3/4 | 14 | 29 Nov 1855 | “ |
| 4/- | 15 | 6 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 5/- | 16 | 6 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 6/8 | 17 | 14 Dec 1855 | “ |
| 7/6 | 18 | 25 Aug 1855 | “ |
| 10/- | 19 | 6 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 13/4 | 20 | 14 Dec 1855 | “ |
| 15/- | 21 | 14 Sept 1855 | “ |
| 20/- | 22 | 29 Oct 1855 | “ |
| 30/- | 23 | 29 Oct 1855 | “ |
| 40/- | 24 | 29 Nov 1855 | “ |
| 45/- | 25 | 13 Oct 1855 | “ |
Later plates used current numbers.
| Current No. | Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175 | 50/- | 1 | 22 Nov 1860 | 18 Dec 1872 |
| 196 | £5 | 1 | 1 July 1861 | “ |
1871 Issue
De La Rue, watermark VR, perf 14, 100 set. Issued shortly before Key Types came into use, these stamps are all the same size as the medium (shillings) Key Type stamps.
1872 issue, as last but colours switched as it was thought that cancels could obliterate the smaller lettering of the shilling stamps when they were printed in purple.
| Current No. | Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 343 | 3d | 2 | 5 Aug 1870 | 6 Apr 1887 |
| 344 | 15/- | 2 | 5 Aug 1870 | 29 Mar 1882 |
| 345 | £2.10.0 | 2 | 5 Aug 1870 | 18 Dec 1902 |
| 350 * | 1d | 2 | — | 29 Sept 1871 |
| 351 * | 2d | 2 | — | “ |
| 352 | 6d | 2 | 15 Dec 1870 | 6 Apr 1887 |
| 353 | 9d | 2 | “ | “ |
| 354 | 1d | 3 | “ | “ |
| 355 | 2d | 3 | “ | “ |
| 356 | 1/- | 2 | 30 Dec 1870 | 29 Mar 1882 |
| 357 | 4/- | 2 | “ | “ |
| 358 | 5/- | 2 | “ | “ |
| 359 | 10/- | 2 | “ | “ |
| 360 | 2/- | 2 | “ | “ |
| 361 | 3/- | 2 | “ | “ |
| 362 | £1 | 2 | 27 Jan 1871 | 18 Dec 1902 |
| 363 | £5 | 2 | “ | “ |
| 364 | £1.10.0 | 2 | “ | “ |
| 365 | £2 | 2 | “ | “ |
* 350 and 351 were “imperfect” and not used.
1881 Issue
De La Rue, watermark Script VR, perf 14, 168 set. Shilling stamps were redesigned with larger, easier to read values. Two plates of each were made, likely for printing 2-up, only the first of each was registered. Penny and pound designs were as before but the lilac & green inks used for this issue tend to be lighter colours.
The first printing of one of the new shilling designs was 496 sheets of the 5/- (83,328 stamps) on 23 Aug 1881.
| Current No. | Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 648 | 1/- | 3 | 28 Sept 1881 | 18 Dec 1902 |
| 649 | 1/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 652 | 2/- | 3 | 21 Sept 1881 | “ |
| 653 | 2/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 655 | 3/- | 3 | 3 Oct 1881 | “ |
| 656 | 3/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 657 | 4/- | 3 | 28 Sept 1881 | “ |
| 658 | 4/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 659 | 5/- | 3 | 23 Aug 1881 | “ |
| 660 | 5/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 661 | 10/- | 3 | 3 Oct 1881 | “ |
| 662 | 10/- | 4 | — | “ |
| 663 | 15/- | 3 | 21 Sept 1881 | “ |
| 664 | 15/- | 4 | — | “ |
Due to deterioration of the existing plates, a warrant was issued on 3 July 1886 for new penny plates, 168 set.
| Current No. | Duty | No. | Registered | Destroyed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 774 | 1d | 4 | 23 Mar 1888 | 18 Dec 1902 |
| 775 | 2d | 4 | 27 July 1888 | “ |
| 799 | 3d | 3 | 25 Feb 1887 | “ |
| 800 | 9d | 3 | 15 Apr 1888 | “ |
| 801 | 6d | 3 | 15 Feb 1887 | “ |
King Edward VII
1902 De La Rue Key Types, watermark Orb / Script IR / 2 Orbs, perf 14, 240 / 168 / 120 set.
1907 colour change, lilac to purple and overprints in maroon.
c.1915 wartime colour change, green to olive-green and purple to claret.
c.1916 watermark change to Multi Orb IR (sideways on pound stamps).
King George V
1917 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR (sideways on pound stamps).
King George VI
1948 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR (sideways on pound stamps).
Shilling stamps in shades of green, olive, and yellow-ochre.
Queen Elizabeth II
1959 Key Types, watermark Multi Orb IR (sideways on pound stamps).
Shilling stamps in shades of green, olive, and yellow-ochre.
Most used examples on this page are ex De Magistris, courtesy Stanley Gibbons.