Admirals are a series of definitive stamps issued by three countries of the British Commonwealth that show King George V of Great Britain and the British Dominions. The stamps are referred to as the Admirals because King George is depicted in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform. The stamps were issued by Canada in 1911–1928 (Scott catalog numbers 104-134), New Zealand in 1926 (Scott 182-184), and Rhodesia in 1913–24 (Scott 119-138). [1] [2]
Of the three countries that issued postage stamps portraying King George in his Admiral uniform, The Admirals, Canada by far, has issued the most examples, issuing several different series over a period of more than eighteen years. [3]
George V succeeded Edward VII as King of England and the British Dominions on 6 May 1910, however postage stamps bearing his image were not issued until late in 1911. The ensuing period, lasting until 1928, has become one of the most studied areas of Canadian philately which is somewhat unusual because only one basic stamp design was in use. There were several reasons for this, one of which was Canada's involvement in World War I from 1914 to 1918. This resulted in a scarcity of both engravers and the basic resources and materials needed to design and print postage stamps. Changes in currency exchange rates and international postal rates after World War One resulted in the Canadian Post Office issuing new denominations, as well as a change in the stamp's colors. The unusually long issuing period required new dies and several plates to be struck, resulting in a large range of flaws and other varieties for a stamp collector to study. [4] [5] Philatelists have also studied the Admirals in great depth due to the large numbers of varieties of the stamps. [6]
On December 22, 1911, the first Canadian definitive stamps, the 1-cent and 2-cent denominations with a portrait of King George V, [3] were issued and saw postal use for about 16 years, which was longer than any other definitives except for the Small Queens. [1] The Admiral series is renowned for its multitude of re-entries and re-touches and like the Small Queen issue has the distinction of being one of the most extensively researched stamps issues by the Canadian government. [6]
The first series of the King George V definitive stamp issues depict the monarch in profile, facing the viewers left, and were issued from 1911 to 1931 with 11 different denominations ranging from 1-cent to 1-dollar. [3] The engraving of King George is modeled after two photographs by H. Walter Barnettby and the other by W. & D. Downey. The engraving was mastered by Robert Savage of the American Bank Note Company whose main base of operation was in New York but which also had printing facilities in Ottawa, Canada. [7] These issues are perforated 12 x 12. The 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 cent denominations were reprinted at later dates with different colors. [3] Every denomination of the King George V issue were printed in panes of 200 and 400 stamps and cut into and issued in sheets of 100 stamps, or in booklet form with pages of 4 or 6 stamps. They were also released in coil form with three different perforation varieties and were first released in November, 1912. The last stamp issue of this series to be released was the 2-cent carmine issue which had the unusual perforations of 12 x 8 and was issued on June 24, 1931. [1] [3]
During World War I, Canada enacted the War Revenue Act of 1915. The Act created a 1¢ increase on all postage in the hopes that it would generate $8,000,000 Dollars to help with Canada's war costs. [7] The War Tax stamp issues were released between April 15, 1915, and December 1916, the last issue being released in coil form. [3] During World War I Canada was the first country to employ the use of War Tax designations on its postage stamp issues [8] and to this end the King George V postage issue, which was already in use at this time, was modified and printed with a War Tax designation, with two different engraved designations on the 1 and 2 cent issues. Like the regular Admiral issues, the war tax stamps were printed by the American Bank Note Company. [8]
Another type of War Tax stamp was issued with the a War Tax designation overprinted across the face of the stamp, in black or red ink. [3] [9] War Tax overprints were used in other capacities. War taxes were also placed on wine and spirits. To confirm the payment of this tax the Inland Revenue Department overprinted the blue 5¢ Admiral stamp with the inscription Inland Revenue WAR TAX, overprinted diagonally in black. The olive green 20¢ and the black 50¢ stamps were also printed with the same style overprint. The 50¢ KGV issue had the overprint in red. The creation of a war tax in April on medicine and perfume provided a use for all three denominations. The overprinted War Tax stamps were not issued to pay for postage but were meant to be used to pay the tax levied on money orders. However, because all the War Tax stamps did bear the inscription that read Postage they were showing up on mail in Post Offices across Canada. The problem with the overprints got so out of hand that the Canadian Post office terminated the use of the overprinted stamps on May 20, 1915. [10]
On July 1, 1926 Canada's drop letter rate that had been in use since 1915 was reduced from 3s to 2¢. [11] At this time the Canadian Post Offices still had large quantities of the red King George V 3¢ denomination in their existing inventory. To make use of this stock, which consisted of some 140,000 sheets of 100 stamps, the issues were overprinted with a designation that read 2 cents. There exist two basic varieties of these overprints with the 2 cents designation printed with one line of type while the other designation was overprinted with the numeral '2' over the word 'cents'. Other overprint varieties occurred when the contract to overprint these issues was given to The Canadian Bank Note Company. [12] Some overprint varieties produced are rare and valuable and as such there are faked overprints of those varieties in existence. [1]
The second series of the King George V Admirals stamps issued first started to appear in August 1928, as stocks of the first KGV 1915 issues were becoming exhausted. Rather than portraying the King in complete profile this series portrayed the King with his head at quarter turn, to the viewer's left. The series was issued in six denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 cents, with a different color for each denomination. The first stamp of this series to appear was the 4-cent issue, released August 16, 1928, while the 8 cent issue was the last of the series to appear, released on December 21, 1928. Stamps from this series that were also issued in coil form and include the 1, 2 and 5 cent denominations. [3]
Proofs and specimens exist. The ½d, 1d, 1½d and 2½d were printed from a single working plate and the remainder were bi-coloured and printed from double plates. Three engraved dies for the head were used which can be identified from the shading on the King's ear and the shank of the anchor on his cap badge. Shades for these issues are numerous. These stamp issues were perforated with gauge 14 or 15. Because of this numerous color varieties and other factors correct identification can be difficult the collector. [13] Many books on the subject are out of print and difficult to obtain as is other source information.
The new issues were printed on white paper with clear gum. The texture of the paper is plainly evident and can be discerned easily. The 1923 issues however do not show the paper texture very clearly and the gum is smooth. The stamps were perforated 15 were never actually sent to Rhodesia, therefore genuinely postally used examples of these issues on mailed cover do not exist and any 'used' examples could only have been cancelled by request. [13]
In July 1926, two shilling and three shilling stamps were issued surface printed with King George V in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet. Waterlow and Sons engraved the dies and Bradbury Wilkinson produced the printing plates. The first printing of the 2/- and 3/- values of this series was on thin Jones paper in 1926. The 2/- was in deep blue and the 3/- in mauve. The engraved impressions are generally rather poor. In May 1927, the 2/- was issued on a thick Cowan paper and the 3/- was later issued in September 1927. The impressions on the Cowan paper are far better than those printed on the Jones. Initial printings of the 2/- value on Cowan paper can easily be distinguished from the earlier Jones paper as they are a much lighter and brighter blue. The colour became deeper in later printings. In November 1926 a 1d stamp was issued with George V in his uniform of a Field Marshal. The Admiral Stamp was only issued in 1926 for New Zealand and contains only three definitive stamp designs. [14] Combined with the Canada and Rhodesia Admirals this makes for both a more comprehensive topical and/or historical study group of stamps.
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.
The postal and philatelic history of Canada concerns postage of the territories which have formed Canada. Before Canadian confederation, the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland issued stamps in their own names. The postal history falls into four major periods: French control (1604–1763), British control (1763–1841), colonial government control (1841–1867), and Canada, since 1867.
Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British conquered the Marathas who had already defeated the Mughals, their postal systems existed alongside those of many somewhat independent states. The British East India Company gradually annexed the other powers on the sub-continent and brought into existence a British administrative system over most of modern-day India, with a need to establish and maintain both official and commercial mail systems.
A war tax stamp is a type of postage stamp added to an envelope in addition to regular postage. It is similar to a postal tax stamp, but the revenue is used to defray the costs of a war; as with other postal taxes, its use is obligatory for some period of time.
The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1891 and 1907.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Romania.
Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone is a subject that covers the postal system, postage stamps used and mail sent to and from the Panama Canal Zone from 1904 up until October 1978, after the United States relinquished its authority of the Zone in compliance with the treaty it reached with Panama.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
The postal history of Turkey and its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, dates to the 18th century when foreign countries maintained courier services through their consular offices in the Empire. Although delayed in the development of its own postal service, in 1863 the Ottoman Empire became the second independent country in Asia to issue adhesive postage stamps, and in 1875, it became a founding member of the General Postal Union, soon to become the Universal Postal Union. The Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and in the following years, its postal service became more modernized and efficient and its postage stamps expertly designed and manufactured.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Nyassa Company.
The first revenue stamps in the United States were used briefly during colonial times, among the most notable usage involved the Stamp Act. Long after independence, the first revenue stamps printed by the United States government were issued in the midst of the American Civil War, prompted by the urgent need to raise revenue to pay for the great costs it incurred. After the war ended however, revenue stamps and the taxes they represented still continued. Revenue stamps served to pay tax duties on items that came under two main categories, Proprietary and Documentary. Proprietary stamps paid tax duties on goods like alcohol and tobacco, and were also used for various services, while Documentary stamps paid duties on legal documents, mortgage deeds, stocks and a fair number of other legal dealings. Proprietary and Documentary stamps often bore these respective designations, while in several of the issues they shared the same designs, sometimes with minor variations. Beginning in 1862 the first revenue stamps were issued, and would continue to be used for another hundred years and more. For the first twelve years George Washington was the only subject featured on U.S. revenue stamps, when in 1875 an allegorical figure of Liberty finally appeared. Revenue stamps were printed in many varieties and denominations and are widely sought after by collectors and historians. Revenue stamps were finally discontinued on December 31, 1967.
The Regular Issues of 1922–1931 were a series of 27 U.S. postage stamps issued for general everyday use by the U.S. Post Office. Unlike the definitives previously in use, which presented only a Washington or Franklin image, each of these definitive stamps depicted a different president or other subject, with Washington and Franklin each confined to a single denomination. The series not only restored the historical tradition of honoring multiple presidents on U.S. Postage but extended it. Offering the customary presidential portraits of the martyred Lincoln and Garfield, the war hero Grant, and the founding fathers Washington and Jefferson, the series also memorialized some of the more recently deceased presidents, beginning with Hayes, McKinley, Cleveland and Roosevelt. Later, the deaths of Harding, Wilson and Taft all prompted additions to the presidential roster of Regular Issue stamps, and Benjamin Harrison's demise (1901) was belatedly deemed recent enough to be acknowledged as well, even though it had already been recognized in the Series of 1902. The Regular Issues also included other notable Americans, such as Martha Washington and Nathan Hale—and, moreover, was the first definitive series since 1869 to offer iconic American pictorial images: these included the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol Building and others. The first time (1869) that images other than portraits of statesmen had been featured on U.S. postage, the general public disapproved, complaining that the scenes were no substitute for images of presidents and Franklin. However, with the release of these 1922 regular issues, the various scenes—which included the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial and even an engraving of an American Buffalo—prompted no objections. To be sure, this series presented pictorial images only on the higher-value stamps; the more commonly used denominations, of 12 cents and lower, still offered the traditional portraits.
Revenue stamps of Malta were first issued in 1899, when the islands were a British colony. From that year to 1912, all revenue issues were postage stamps overprinted accordingly, that was either done locally or by De La Rue in London. Postage stamps also became valid for fiscal use in 1913, so no new revenues were issued until 1926–30, when a series of key type stamps depicting King George V were issued. These exist unappropriated for use as general-duty revenues, or with additional inscriptions indicating a specific use; Applications, Contracts, Registers or Stocks & Shares. The only other revenues after this series were £1 stamps depicting George VI and Elizabeth II. Postage stamps remained valid for fiscal use until at least the 1980s.
Nyasaland, now known as Malawi, first issued revenue stamps as British Central Africa in 1891 and continued to do so until the late 1980s.
Rhodesia, now divided between Zambia and Zimbabwe, first issued revenue stamps in 1890, and Zimbabwe continues to do so to this day.
The Melita issue is a series of dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps issued by the Crown Colony of Malta between 1922 and 1926, depicting the national personification Melita. They were commemorative stamps since they celebrated the islands' new status as a self-governing colony following a new constitution in 1921, but also a definitive issue intended for regular use over an extended period of time.
Revenue stamps of China were first prepared for issue by the Qing dynasty in the late 19th century, but the first revenue stamps which were in general use were issued by the Republic of China after the 1911 revolution. A wide variety of revenue stamps have since been issued, including numerous provincial and local issues.