150 years - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2000 - 7 Shilling

In the fifties of this century, the news that the oldest stamp in the world had emerged and came from Austrian lands caused a sensation among experts. But the facts are as follows: the first stamps in the world were issued in England on May 6, 1840, under General Postmaster Rowland Hill. Only hesitantly followed other postal administrations with the issue of postage stamps the example of England. When Austria decided to do so in 1849/50, it had only 15 predecessors worldwide. The first edition on 1 June 1850 consisted of stamps to 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9 Kreuzern ("German" edition). However, since the currency was not needed in the then managed by Austria Lombardy-Veneto region, had to be thought of an "Italian" brand issue. There were value impressions of 5, 10, 15, 30 and 45 cents. The stamps were consistently designed, apart from the value imprint and the color scheme, uniformly. They showed the double-headed eagle of the state coat of arms in a decorated shield, above the imperial crown, a laurel and an oak branch, at the top the inscription "K.K. POST-STAMPS" and below the value and currency. Although these marks were marked "K.K. POST-STEMPEL", the highest postal authority presented the small sticky notes for prepayment of the postage as "stamps". An almost ingeniously simple designation, which later became naturalized in the whole German language area.