A collection of 18 WWII Jersey stamps bearing swastikas over the head of George VI is coming to auction next month.

The 1940 stamps were produced during the Nazi occupation of the island, which lies in the English Channel.

No Jersey swastika stamps were ever issued

The never issued stamps, bearing 13 values including a centenary set of five from ½d to 3d, are a haunting reminder of the second world war.   

Each stamp displays an overprinting of a swastika accompanied by "Jersey/1940". The majority of the original gum remains on each.

It is one of very few known extant sets. We anticipate the collection's extreme rarity and great historical importance to attract significant attention ahead of the September 12 sale. As such we believe the £25,000 to be a conservative one.

Germany occupied the Channel Islands from June 1940 until May 1945, with the Allied leaders deciding not to include the islands in their D-Day assault of 1944, due to the region's strong fortifications.

With the island now cut off, both the occupying forces and the islanders suffered severe food shortages.

The sale is the latest instalment from the collection of British and British Empire stamps amassed by Sir Humphrey Cripps to come up for sale.

It will also feature a collection of George VI imprimaturs from 1937-47, which have a £100,000 high estimate.

July's Chartwell collection sale saw a rare annotated sheet from the historic Rainbow Trials achieve £65,000.