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Queen Victoria

Barbados Stamps | Queen Victoria

1852-1901

The very first stamps of Barbados were issued during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1852 although it is believed that a regular packet service existed between Britain and Barbados from around 1688.  The early covers (pre-stamp) were marked as ‘Barbadoes’ and these covers generally fetch a premium when they turn up at auction.

The first stamps issued in 1852 were printed by Perkins Bacon on a ‘blued’ paper and featured Britannia seated with a ship in the background.  The early issues did not have any value showing on them but were distinguishable from their colour; green for 1/2d, blue for 1d, greyish slate for 2d (which is rare to find) and a brownish red for the 4d.

The stamps are not as rare as you may imagine however finding stamps of the required quality is quite hard.  Much like the Penny Black in Britain, there are plenty of them but as these stamps were issued imperforate in sheets they had to be cut off.  Getting a stamp therefore with four good margins is imperative if it is to be an investment.  If however you simply want a stamp to look at and are not bothered about the quality then you will find a great number available on various auction sites on the internet.

The stamps shown here are all from my collection and personally, I prefer to go for quality if at all possible.  What this means to me is that the stamp needs to be clean and ‘fresh’ (not grubby and soiled) and have four good margins.  I would rather have a stamp with four thin margins around it than one with three good margins and a cut on the fourth side.

This, of course, is just a preference and I know of many other collectors who will happily take a stamp with less than four good margins to fill the gap in the album.  Collecting with an eye for quality means that there are always a lot of gaps in the album waiting to be filled but the satisfaction of finally filling that gap is so much better for the wait….

As an example, the first stamp in this gallery is Barbados SG1, notoriously hard to find in good condition, but this one is probably as good as it gets. It took me ten years to find one of this quality, but it does show that patience will eventually be rewarded.

Barbados SG1
Barbados SG2
Barbados SG3
Barbados SG4
Barbados SG5
Barbados SG5a
Barbados SG7
Barbados SG8
Barbados SG9
Barbados SG10
Barbados SG11
Barbados SG11a
Barbados SG12
Barbados SG12a
Barbados SG13
Barbados SG14
Barbados SG15
Barbados SG17
Barbados SG18
Barbados SG19
Barbados SG20
Barbados SG21
Barbados SG21a
Barbados SG22
Barbados SG23
Barbados SG24
Barbados SG25
Barbados SG26
Barbados SG27
Barbados SG28
Barbados SG29
Barbados SG30
Barbados SG31
Barbados SG32
Barbados SG33
Barbados SG34
Barbados SG35
Barbados SG43
Barbados SG44
Barbados SG45
Barbados SG46
Barbados SG47
Barbados SG48
Barbados SG49
Barbados SG50
Barbados SG51
Barbados SG52
Barbados SG53
Barbados SG54
Barbados SG56
Barbados SG57
Barbados SG58
Barbados SG60
Barbados SG61
Barbados SG63
Barbados SG64
Barbados SG65
Barbados SG66
Barbados SG67
Barbados SG68
Barbados SG69
Barbados SG70
Barbados SG71
Barbados SG72
Barbados SG73
Barbados SG74
Barbados SG75
Barbados SG76
Barbados SG77
Barbados SG78
Barbados SG79
Barbados SG80
Barbados SG81
Barbados SG82
Barbados SG83
Barbados SG86
Barbados SG86b unsevered pair (used)
Barbados SG4 Block of four
Barbados SG5a block of six
Barbados SG21 block of six
Barbados SG22 block of four
Barbados SG23 block of four
Barbados SG35 block of four
Barbados SG60b block of four
Barbados SG72 block of four
Barbados SG89 Dull Green
Barbados SG90 Green
Barbados SG91 Rose
Barbados SG92 Carmine
Barbados SG93 Ultramarine
Barbados SG94 Deep Blue
Barbados SG95 3d Deep Purple
Barbados SG96 3d Reddish Purple
Barbados SG97 4d Grey
Barbados SG98 4d Pale Brown
Barbados SG99 4d Deep Brown
Barbados SG100 6d Olive Black
Barbados SG102 1/- Chestnut
Barbados SG103 5/- Bistre
Barbados SG104 ½d on 4d
Barbados SG104a ½d on 4d No Hyphen
Barbados SG105
Barbados SG106
Barbados SG107
Barbados SG108
Barbados SG109
Barbados SG110
Barbados SG111
Barbados SG112
Barbados SG113
Barbados SG114
Barbados SG115
Barbados SG116
Barbados SG117
Barbados SG118
Barbados SG119
Barbados SG120
Barbados SG121
Barbados SG122
Barbados SG123
Barbados SG124
Barbados SG125
Barbados SG126
Barbados SG127
Barbados SG128

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