| Epaulettes | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Epaulette_10c.jpg) Brown ten centimes version | |
| Country of production | Belgium |
| Date of production | 1849 |
| Designer | Charles Baugniet |
| Engraver | John Henry Robinson |
| Dimensions | 18 mm × 24 mm (0.71 in × 0.94 in)[1] |
| Perforation | None |
| Depicts | King Leopold I |
| Notability | First Belgian postage stamp |
| Face value | 10 and 20 centimes |
| Estimated value | €7,100 (mint unhinged) |
Epaulettes (French: Épaulettes, Dutch: Epauletten)[a] is the name given by philatelists to the first series of postage stamps issued by Belgium. The stamps, which depicted King Leopold I with prominent epaulettes from which the name derives, became legally usable on 1 July 1849. Two denominations with the same design were issued simultaneously: a brown 10 centimes and a blue 20 centimes. They were produced as the result of a series of national reforms to the postal system in Belgium, based on the success of similar British measures adopted in 1840. The stamps allowed postal costs to be pre-paid by the sender, rather than the receiver, and led to a sharp increase in the volume of mail. Although quickly superseded by new types, Epaulettes proved influential and have since inspired several series of commemorative stamps.
- ^ a b Le Soir 1999.
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