1861 Newfoundland

Newfoundland #18 is a 4-penny rose imperforate stamp from Newfoundland's Third Pence Issue of 1861-62, printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. of London. The design continues the Rose, Thistle and Shamrock theme of the Pence Issues, with the three heraldic flowers of England, Scotland, and Ireland displayed within a circular frame, surrounded by an ornate scrollwork border, with "St. John's Newfoundland" and "Postage" at top and "Four Pence" with corner numerals at bottom. The soft rose color of this printing gives the stamp a delicate appearance quite different from the deeper shades found on other values in the series. 

The 4-penny denomination was one of the workhorse values of Newfoundland's Pence Issues, used on heavier or more distant mail during the colony's early postal years. The Third Pence Issue of 1861-62 represented a reprinting of the original 1857 designs in new colors on different paper, and specialists distinguish the three issue periods primarily through careful study of color shades and paper characteristics. Perkins, Bacon & Co., the London firm responsible for all three Pence Issues, was among the most respected security printers of the Victorian era, with contracts to produce stamps for dozens of British colonies around the world.

The Pence Issues of Newfoundland cover a short but historically rich window — 1857 through 1862 — during which the newly self-governing colony established its postal identity. The Rose, Thistle and Shamrock design, repeated across multiple denominations and issue periods, was a fitting emblem for a population drawn largely from England, Scotland, and Ireland. These early imperforate stamps, cut from the sheet by hand and used in a remote North Atlantic colony just entering self-governance, are among the most historically interesting items in all of British North American philately.