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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1

NEVIS (West Indies)

Return To Catalogue - Nevis, forgeries of the first issue - Leewart islands - St Kitts

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.

Before the introduction of special stamps for Nevis, the stamps of Great Britain with cancel "A09" were used (sorry, no picture available yet).

From 1891 till 1903 Nevis used the stamps of the Leewart islands.

Together with St Kitts it reissued stamps from 1903 on.

1861 Arms of the colony; three women at a medicinal spring, various frames, perforated

  1 p red
  4 p red
  4 p orange
  6 p grey
  1 Sh green

For the specialist: these stamps are unwatermarked. There are 12 different types of each stamp (they were issued in twelve stamps in each sheet). In 1861 the values 1 p, 4 p red, 6 p and 1 Sh were engraved on bluish or yellowish paper, perforated 13. The values 1 p, 4 p orange and 1 Sh were issued engraved on white paper in 1867, perforated 13. In 1876 the values 1 p, 4 p orange, 6 p and 1 Sh were issued lithographed with perforation 15 (also 11 1/2 for the 1 p).

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Types:

Here a sheetlet of 12 stamps with all the types of the 1 Sh stamp.

Cancels:

Typical cancellation:

I've seen a 1 p stamp cancelled with a very thick black cross.

Reprints in black:

Apparently reprinted in 1931 by the Royal Philatelic Society:

Nevis, for forgeries of the first issue, click here

Fiscal stamps:

These stamps overprinted 'Revenue' are fiscal stamps, The 1 p, 4 p orange, 6 p grey and 1 Sh green exist overprinted like this, example:

(overprint diagonally)

(overprint horizontal)

In 1877 the overprint was done by hand (usually diagonally), from 1878 onwards the overprint is horizontal. These revenue stamps exist with forged postal cancels. I have seen a 6 p forgery with the word 'Revenue' erased, pretending to be a postage stamp.

1880 Queen Victoria

  1/2 p green
  1 p violet
  1 p red
  2 1/2 p brown
  2 1/2 p blue
  4 p blue
  4 p grey
  6 p green
  6 p brown
  1 Sh violet

Bisected, overprinted 'NEVIS' and new value

  '1/2 d' (black or violet) on 1 p lilac 

For the specialist: these stamps exist with watermark CC Crown or watermark CA Crown. The perforation is always 14.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

This stamp also exists bisected without the overprint:

An unsevered stamp with overprints, originally belonging to the Ferrari collection.

With cancel "PAID AT NEVIS" with crown on top.

Stamp used fiscally:

(1 p stamp used fiscally)

Note that a few have a "Saint Christopher" overprint

In 1880 the 1 p lilac stamp was overprinted 'Revenue'. These stamps exist overprinted (1881) with 'REVENUE' to be used as fiscal stamps, known are the values 1 p lilac, 4 p blue, 6 p green and 1 Sh violet. They exists with forged postal cancels.

Cut from a postcard in a very similar design.

Forgeries:

Some primitive forgeries. I have also seen the 1 p lilac, 1 p red (both with 'ONE PENNY' too short), 2 1/2 p red (non existing color for a genuine stamp!) and 2 1/2 p blue. The cancels are blotches, "105" numeral cancel in between six bars and 2 sidebars; the same cancel but without number, squarish cancel, circle consisting of dots, line cancel etc (see images below). Similar forgeries exist for Antigua, Gibraltar and St.Lucia.

Some of the cancels on these forgeries. The 4 p shown earlier has a "105" numeral cancel.

Another type of forgery. The face has white areas (lithography?) and the "S" of "NEVIS" is different. It has a "CHARLESTOWN SP 8? ??" cancel (next to it a forgery of the previous issue with the same cancel).

I've been told that these 6 p green stamps are Sperati forgeries. There is a break in the outer frameline to the right of the 'E' of 'PENCE' (similar to the genuine stamp in the sheet which Sperati copied it from). In my opinion, there are some weak spots in the 'N' and 'S' of 'NEVIS'

The Montreal Philatelist (Vol.2, No.2, June 1900, p.145) warns against forged 6 p green stamps created from 1/2 p green stamps by removing the value of the 1/2 p and printing 'SIX PENCE' instead. This warning apparently appeared earlier in the 'Briefmarken Journal'. I have never seen such a forgery.

This is a stamp from Cyprus, from which the country name and value were erased and then reprinted as a Nevis stamp. The cancel was also forged.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer