The stamps were officially described by an Avis ministériel ("Ministerial notice") of 1849 as each being a "small engraving representing the portrait of the King, with indication as to their value..they will be printed on a paper of which the reverse is coated in a thin layer of glue." .
The Epaulettes stamps depicted Leopold I wearing military uniform, with highly visible epaulettes, and were printed using the intaglio method.