What is striking about the first philatelic issues of most countries in the Nineteenth Century compared to the later issues is the small number of printing varieties that exist on first issues compared to the subsequent issues. Specifically, US #1 & 2 have a few minor shade varieties listed by the catalogs and several very minor reentries ( a variety created in making the plate that printed the stamp where the design was not fully erased before reentering a new version). But compared to the recognized varieties on the later 1851 issue, the printers of the first US stamps should be considered nearly perfect. The One Cent of the 1851 issue has scores of major varieties and types alone and the 10c is nearly as complicated. The same holds true for Great Britain where the Penny Black and the Two Penny Blue have almost no varieties of note compared to the one penny of the 1841 issue which could be collected forever.
This same pattern occurs in many other countries and is not a coincidence. It is caused by two factors. First, the new postage stamps were a big deal and the manufacturers put their best printers to work on them and exercised first rate quality control. By the time of later issues more lackadaisical standards created more varieties. And second, most first issue stamps were shorter lived issues than the second and later issues which often continued for many years through many printings. Thus more varieties were possible. First issue Austria is an exception to this pattern. There are many varieties probably because these stamps were issued over so many years. We have illustrated one of the more interesting varieties of the first issue Austria-a stamp that has been printed on both sides.
