Postal volume increased year by year. Printing using hand-engraved plates was no longer able to keep pace with the demand for stamps. Under the guidance Edoardo Chiossone, an Italian, who was invited .. Read more »by the mint, stamps were produced using the new method of relief printing.
The stamps are commonly known as the 'Small Coin stamps,' for the picture in the center of the design. These were used for many years, from 1876 to 1899, and were the first stamps to have the words 'Refined edition,' indicating the production method, printed on the bottom of the sheet.
Japan
