Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
NEW ZEALAND is written in the frame.
- 1NEW ZEALAND
- 2THREE PENCE
- Inscription
- NEW ZEALAND · POSTAGE & REVENUE · THREE PENCE
- Meaning
- POSTAGE & REVENUE: valid for letters and for tax fees as well. The value is spelled out in pence.
- Issued by
- New Zealand
- Today
- New Zealand Flag of New Zealand
- Year
- 1898. First issued in 1898 (the pictorial series; the specimen’s exact printing is not identified).
- Made by
- W R Bock (designer); Waterlow and Sons, England (engraving company)
One fact
The threepence shows a pair of huia, a bird found only in New Zealand and extinct since the early 20th century.
Source and public-domain rule
New Zealand Crown copyright, at most 100 years. A New Zealand government (Crown) stamp made for the Post and Telegraph Department and issued in 1898: Crown copyright lasts at most 100 years, so it ended by 1998. Stamps made for New Zealand’s Post and Telegraph Department are Crown works. Under the Copyright Act 1994, s. 26, Crown copyright in a work made by a Crown employee or under contract lasts at most 100 years from the end of the year it was made (older Crown terms may have ended sooner). Stamps issued before 1926 are therefore out of copyright. Legal sources: Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand), s. 26, IPONZ (New Zealand Intellectual Property Office).
Scan: 1898 Huia 3 pence brown.JPG on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1274950396), licence templates {{PD-1923}}, {{PD-NZ}}. Downloaded 2026-10-21, sha256 f38a1a86d95b…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
