Embossed issues
The dies used for this type of printing have the embossed portions of the stamp design cut away into the metal. The colourless detail as appears on the hair and diadem are achieved by variations in the depth of the engraving. The master die was engraved by William Wyon using as his basis the City medal of 1837. From this master, a series of sub-dies were made and the curl added to the back of the hair. As such the curl differs on each value. Also added to the dies, after the outer design had been completed, was a die number.
For the ten pence and one shilling values, Dickinson silk thread paper was used. The paper used for the six pence value was watermarked with the letters V R. The presses used for the embosses dies, allowed for only one stamp to be printed at a time. This method of production meant that the spacing on the sheets varied from wide spacing, (which is uncommon), to very narrow which is why examples with four margins are rare. In some cases the impressions were impressed overlapping each other by quite a large amount.
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