Britain's most spectacular commemoratives, No33: 1984 Greenwich Meridian 20½p

The centenary of the international conference which met in 1884 to decide a universal system of longitude was marked by four classy stamps, each with the 0° meridian shown dramatically by a bold red line across the design.

On the best of the four, it is superimposed on a historical but very detailed sepia map of the south of England and north-west of France. Even the most basic of inscriptions seems superfluous, because the illustration says it all.

Design: Sedley Place Design.

Printing: offset lithography by Questa.

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