King Leopold I, Epaulettes Type

Belgium · 1849 · 10c

This stamp, known as the 'Epaulettes' issue, features a portrait of King Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians. The design, engraved by Jacob Wiener, shows the monarch in military uniform, notable for the prominent epaulettes on his shoulders. It was printed in brown on handmade paper with a 'LL' monogram watermark.

Issued in 1849, this was the very first postage stamp of Belgium, marking the country's entry into the postal reform movement that began with Great Britain's Penny Black nine years earlier.