Home Catalogue index Volume 1 index Volume 2 index
Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1

BRITISH GUIANA 1850-1852

Return To Catalogue - Issues of 1853-1859 - British Guiana 1860 - British Guiana 1862 - British Guiana 1863 - Issues of 1876-1888 - Issues of 1889-1920 - Miscellaneous

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the catalogue;
contact me if you want to purchase it.

1850 Circle with inscription "BRITISH" on top "GUIANA" at the bottom, value in the center and signature

Image obtained from a Felzmann auction 2 c, image obtained from a David Feldman auction Ex Du Pont collection 4 c, certified genuine Ex Du Pont collection, Ex-Ferrary Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com Ex Ferrari stamp Reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com/html Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com Only unused example of any cottonreel.
(Genuine stamps )

  2 c black on red
  4 c black on yellow
  8 c black on green
  12 c black on blue

These stamps are commonly known under the name 'cottonreels' or 'cotton spool stamps'. All these stamps are extremely rare. The 2 c is the rarest (it was only discovered in 1877! Ten of such stamps are known to exits, among them 3 pairs, no uncancelled 2 c stamps are known). A signature of the postmaster can be found on all used stamps (to prevent fraud). The following signatures seems to exists 'E.T.E.D.' (colonial postmaster Dalton); 'E.D.W.' (postal employee Wight); 'J.B.S.' (postal employee Smith), 'H.A.K.' (postmaster Killikelly from Georgetown) and 'W.H.L' (letter carrier Lortimer).

Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com
Signature 'E.D.W.'

Image obtained from a Felzmann auction Ex Du Pont collection
Signature 'W.H.L'.

2 c, image obtained from a David Feldman auction Ex Du Pont collection
Signature 'J.B.S.'

Forgeries, examples:

forgery
forgeries, note the imperfect shape of the circle. Some of them have a printed "E. D. W." signature


Slighlty different forgery type.

4 c black on yellow, forgery 4 c 'blue'(!), forgery! 'Forgeries!'
Some more forgeries, even with wrong colours! I've seen a 8 c forgery of this type in a Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries (with "FAUX" overprint as usual). This indicates that Fournier sold this type of forgery. This forgery type is also illustrated in a Schaubek Album. Note the wide variety of cancels (among them "B02" from Suez).


Page from a Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries with a 4 c of this type..


Other forgery


Yet another forgery.


(some other forgeries)


And another forgery

 

1852 Ship in a shield, inscription "DAMUS PATIMUS QUE VICISSIM" at the bottom

Certified genuine!

Image reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com
Images reproduced with permission from: http://www.sandafayre.com

Image obtained from a Herrick auction
Genuine, with typical 'DEMERARA' cancel)\


(Certified genuine)


(Most likely genuine)


(Probably forgeries)

  1 c black on red
  4 c black on blue

Value of the stamps

 
vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon
 
*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare
Value Unused Used Remarks
1 c RRR RRR  
4 c RRR RRR  

Forgeries, examples (by the way I think the above stamps could be forged as well):

Forgeries!
(Reduced sizes)

Perforated (perforation 12 1/2) reprints exist:


(perforated reprints or forgeries?)

I don't know if the above perforated stamps are the reprints, they are probably just forgeries. Some reprints exist with the perforation cut off, pretending to be genuine stamps.


A forgery from the Fournier Album of forgeries. "C" of "CENTS" too narrow.

The forger Peter Winter also has made forgeries of these stamps. They were produced in the 1980's. I suspect the next stamps to be such forgeries:


Peter Winter forgeries?


(Winter forgeries with "B G A C 4 DE 7 1854" cancel)


Letter adressed to 'The Lord Bishop of Guiana Georgetown'. The letter was also forged by Peter Winter.


Forgeries with the 'Q' of 'QUE' different, the tail of this letter is pointing too much to the right. The 1 c was also found in the Fournier Album of Philatelic forgeries.


Primitive forgery with double framelines.


Another forgery with a bogus ring cancel.


Another primitive forgery.

 

For stamps of British Guiana issued after 1852 click here.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer