Japanese Stamps Digital Museum

竜銭切手 << 1872年(明治5年) 2月 >> みほん 1-1-2

Hand carved (Etched) stamps (Doragon Stamps Sen Unit) - Specimen -
Issued on February 1872 (Meiji 5)

Dragon Ryu-sen stamp 4 types, Issued on February 1872 (Meiji 5) - Specimen - Japanese postal system was established before the Japanese currency unit was changed in 1871 (Meiji 4),So, The first stamp was 'mon' unit.But, in February1872(Meiji 5) , it was amended by a new currency 'sen' to change from 'mon' by the government. At this time, the design around the Ryumon stamp kept, and a new original edition 'sen' was added to issue. This is called a Ryu(Dragon)-sen stamp.This stamp was handworked perforations for the first time. Also, paste was applied for thefirst time half of the issuance period of this stamp.

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The above is only true for specimen stamps.
For official printed stamps, see this.
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