The Barbados FDC’s of QEII between 1953-1959
This page might seem a bit sparse and at first glance, clearly missing something, but the reality is there were only four main issues during this period.
Chief among these were the definitive set in 1953 but they weren’t all issued at the same time.
The initial issue was 13th April 1953 and that was only the 1c. On 15th April 1954, most of them were released including the 2c, 3c, 4c, 6c, 8c, and 12c. After that came a single stamp, the 5c on 4th January 1954.
The next release was the 24c on 2nd March 1956**, followed by the 60c and $1.20 on 3rd April 1956 before finally, the $2.40 on 1st February 1957. After this, there were three further issues but these were only shades of the existing stamps; the 4c and 12c shades on 18th March 1959, the 60c shade on 17th May 1960, and finally the turquoise blue and bronze-green shade of the 12c on 13th June 1961. It is not known if anyone created FDC’s for these shades, however, I have never seen any nor are any reported in any of the literature.
All of the definitive FDC’s are represented in the gallery below.
**It’s interesting to note that Stanley Gibbons catalogue has always quoted the issue date as 2nd March 1956, however, in ‘The Stamps of Barbados’, Edmund Bayley notes that the local Post Office records state that the 24c and 48c stamps were issued a day earlier on 1st March 1956. If you examine the First Day Covers below you will find that any cover continuing these two values is dated 1st Match.
