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VIRGIN ISLANDS (West Indies)

Iles Vierges - Jungfern Inseln

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

1866 Various images of a St. Ursula (1 and 6 p small sized)

  1 p green
  1 p red
  4 p red
  4 p brown
  6 p red
  6 p violet
  1 Sh black and red
  1 Sh black and red (red border)
  1 Sh brown

Surcharged (1888)

  '4D' (violet) on 1 Sh black and red (red border)

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

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

Cancels:

A numeral cancel 'A91' was used in the Virgin Islands.

Forgeries:

Spiro forgeries:

The Spiro forgeries can be detected by their weird cancels in most cases. According to 'The Spud Papers', the 1 p forgery can be recognized cords of the lamps, which are clearly visible in the forgeries, but hardly visible in the genuine stamps. Also there is only a small space between 'ONE PENNY' and the label containing it. In the genuine 1 p stamps, there is a lot of spce around the word 'ONE PENNY'. The 4 p Spiro forgery can be detected by the pearls around 'VIRGIN ISLANDS' and 'FOUR PENCE', they are very large. In the genuine stamps, these pearls are much smaller. The 1 Sh forgeries can be recognized by looking at the background pattern. In the genuine 1 Sh stamps, there should also be a part of the background pattern behind the virgin. In the Spiro forgeries, there are white spaces around the virgin.

A Senf forgery with inscription 'FALSCH.' at the bottom:

Other forgeries:

(Another forgery, resembling a Spiro product, though there are many differences with the Spiro forgery above)

Another forgery:

This forgery of the 1 Sh is red, it should be brown!

A badly printed 1 p blue(?) on very thick paper

A forged 'A91' cancel as can be found in a Fournier Album. I presume it was used to 'enhance' any of the above forgeries. I haven't seen any stamp with this cancel yet, if you possess a picture please contact me!

1880 Queen Victoria

  1/2 p yellow
  1/2 p green
  1 p green
  1 p red
  2 1/2 p brown
  2 1/2 p blue

These stamps have watermark CC Crown or CA Crown and perforation 14.

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
Watermark 'CC Crown' (1880)
1 p green	RR	RR
2 1/2 p brown	RR	RR
Watermark 'CA Crown' (1883)
1/2 p yellow	RR	RR
1/2 p green	***	***
1 p red	R	R
2 1/2 p blue	***	***

Forgeries, examples:

(Reduced sizes, note the perforation)

The word 'ONE PENNY' in the above 1 p green forgery is written too small (compare with a genuine stamp above). I have also seen the 1 p red made by the same forger.

From 1890 to 1899 the stamps of the Leeward Islands were used in the Virgin Islands.

1899 Image of a virgin

  1/2 penny
  1 p red
  2 1/2 p blue
  4 p brown
  6 p violet
  7 p green
  1 Sh yellow
  5 Sh blue

These stamps have watermark CA Crown and perforation 14.

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
1/2 p	**	**
1 p	**	***
2 1/2 p	***	***
4 p	***	***
6 p	***	***
7 p	***	***
1 Sh	R	R
5 Sh	RR	RR

I have seen a postcard in the same design (1/2 p green).

1904 King Edward VII

(Reduced size)

  1/2 p lilac and green
  1 p lilac and red
  2 p lilac and brown
  2 1/2 p lilac and blue
  3 p lilac and black
  6 p lilac and brown
  1 Sh green and red
  2 Sh 6 p green and black
  5 Sh green and blue

These stamps have watermark Multiple CA Crown and perforation 14.

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
1/2 p	*	*
1 p	**	**
2 p	***	***
2 1/2 p	***	***
3 p	***	***
6 p	***	***
1 Sh	***	***
2 Sh 6 p	R	R
5 Sh	RR	RR

1913 King George V

  1/2 p green
  1 p red
  2 p grey
  2 1/2 p blue
  3 p lilac on yellow
  6 p lilac
  1 Sh black on green
  2 Sh 6 p black and red on blue
  5 Sh green and red on yellow

These stamps have watermark Multiple CA Crown or Multiple Script CA Crown and perforation 14.

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
Watermark 'Multiple CA Crown'
1/2 p	*	*
1 p	*	*
2 p	**	**
2 1/2 p	**	**
3 p	**	**
6 p	***	***
1 Sh	R	R
2 Sh 6 p	R	R
5 Sh	RR	RR
Watermark 'Multiple Script CA Crown'
1/2 p	*	*
1 p	*	*

Surcharged 'WAR STAMP'

  1 p red
  3 p lilac on yellow

These 'war stamps' were issued on 20th October 1916 (the 1 p for letters and the 3 p for parcels, information thanks to Peter Elias).

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
Watermark 'Multiple CA Crown'
1 p	*	*
3 p	*	**

Later issues, examples of 1921:

14 values were issued in the above design, ranging from 1/2 p to 5 Sh.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer

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