About 140 years ago, in a small village in England, a mail coach (古时的四轮马车) was standing on the street. Many people gathered around it. They were talking to one another about the mail coach and the post system. People had to pay a lot of money to get a letter in those days. And the person who sent the letter did not have to pay anything. The person who got it had to pay the postage.
"The postage is so high that poor people can"t pay it." a gentleman named Rowland Hill said to his friends, "This system should be changed."
After much thought, he had an idea.
"Now I know what to do to change the system." he said, "The postage should be much lower. And the person who sends the letter should pay the postage. He should buy a stamp and put it on the envelope."
So Mr. Hill asked the Government to make the postal system better. In this way the first stamp was put out (生产，出版) in 1840. It was called the "Penny Black". It had a picture of the Queen (英国女王) on it.
Now each country has its own stamps. And there are many people collecting stamps all over the world. The first stamp was produced in ______.