The early Victorian fiscal stamps, all depicting a side face view of Queen Victoria, were essentially Duty stamps, however, from 1882 they were permitted to be used for postal purposes. Duty stamps were primarily used as a convenient method of signifying the collection of charges for land transfers and other dutiable transactions.
Issue information
A quantity of the 2s, 5s and £1 denominations of this issue were also overprinted with the word "Official", and these were only used for postal purposes. These stamps remained in production through until 1930, being New Zealand's only high value stamps except the 2s and 5s 1898 Pictorials. The stamps were engraved by W R Bock.
The 1d, 4d, 6d, 8d and 1s values were postally used in 1882 as supplies of Queen Victoria First Sidefaces stamps ran short before the Queen Victoria Second Sidefaces replacements were ready. In addition to the stamps listed here values above £1 are known to have been postally used.
Acknowledgments
New Zealand Post would like to acknowledge the following for their assistance and guidance in bringing together this stamp issue:
Historical information included on this page sourced from The Postage Stamps of New Zealand published by the Royal Philatelic Society of NZ. Their web site offers further information useful to those interested in the stamps and postal history of New Zealand. Link: https://www.rpsnz.org.nz/
Product Listing for Queen Victoria Postal Fiscals
| Image | Title | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 1d 'Lilac' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. Design is based on a contemporary British Inland Revenue stamp. |
1d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 1d 'Blue' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. Design is based on a contemporary British Inland Revenue stamp. |
1d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 4d 'Orange' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
4d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 6d 'Brown' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
6d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 8d 'Green' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
8d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 1s 'Pink' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
1s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 2s 'Blue' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
2s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 2s 6d 'Brown' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
2s 6d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 3s 'Mauve' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
3s |
| Single Stamp |
Single 4s 'Red/Brown' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
4s | |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 5s 'Green' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
5s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 6s 'Rose' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
6s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 7s 'Blue' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
7s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 7s 6d 'Grey' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
7s 6d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 8s 'Blue' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
8s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 9s 'Orange' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
9s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 10s 'Red/Brown' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
10s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 12s 6d 'Purple' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
12s 6d |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single 15s 'Green' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
15s |
 |
Single Stamp |
Single £1 'Rose' gummed stamp. Side-face portrait of Queen Victoria. |
£1 |
Technical information
| Date of issue: | 1 April 1882 |
|---|---|
| Designers: | W B Hudson |
| Printers: | Government Printing Office, Wellington |
| Stamp size: | 20mm x 24mm and 24mm x 40mm |
| Sheet size: | 1d: 240 stamps per sheet (4 panes of 60); Other values: 60 stamps per sheet |
| Process: | Surface printed - Typography |
| Perforation gauge: | Various |
| Paper type: | Various paper types, NZ or NZ and star watermark. |