Issued in 1853, the Cape of Good Hope
stamp is the first postage stamp in the Cape of Good Hope, and even in
the whole of Africa. It firstly came out in the forms of 1- and
4-pennies, and the stamp with two other face values was issued two years
later.
The stamp sports a triangular shape, so
that even the illiterate could tell that it was not a stamp from another
country, although many other countries have issued triangular stamps
since then. Its design is a female figure sitting on top of an anchor,
which is resting on top of a rock, symbolizing the Cape. The stamp was
designed by Surveyor General Charles Bell and printed by Messrs.
Perkins, Bacon & Co., a famous printer of books, bank notes and
postage stamps.
Very rare copies of the stamp have
survived today. In the world-famous Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalog, the
value of a single Cape of Good Hope stamp is about US$40,000.
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