The First Set of Hong Kong's Definitive Stamps and Subsequent Denominations

In the early years of British rule in Hong Kong, postal services were administered by the Colonial Office, but no postage stamps were issued in those days. Hong Kong’s first stamps were launched on 8 December 1862, and they featured a design similar to the contemporary definitive stamps used in Britain: letterpress-printed on unwatermarked paper (watermarks were only introduced on stamps the following year), they portrayed the head of Queen Victoria.

This first set of Hong Kong postage stamps had seven denominations, each corresponding to the main postal rates applicable at that time and printed a different colour. The Chinese characters for HONGKONG and the denomination were produced by craftsmen of the British printer responsible for the stamps, who based the carving of the printing blocks on the enlarged strokes of the Chinese characters provided by the Hong Kong government. Known as sin si in Cantonese, the denominations on the stamps ranged from 2 cents to 96 cents. Later, changes in international exchange rates, the opening of new postal routes and Hong Kong’s participation in the Universal Postal Union caused the postage rates in the colony to fluctuate from time to time. New denominations were added to the stamp issues during the reign of Queen Victoria, while stamps of the same denomination were also printed in different colours depending on when they were issued.