Australia Postage Due Stamp, Red and Green

Australia · 1902 · 1d

This is one of Australia's earliest postage due stamps, issued before the Commonwealth was fully established. The design features a prominent numeral '1' indicating the one penny due, framed by an ornate design with the words 'POSTAGE DUE' at the top and the denomination spelled out at the bottom. The bicolored printing in red and green was intended to make it easily distinguishable from regular postage stamps.

Issued shortly after the Federation of Australia in 1901, these stamps were initially printed by individual states (this one by New South Wales) for nationwide use before a unified Commonwealth design was adopted.