Presenting the A-Z of British Empire Stamps Collection.
A unique international collection comprising the most iconic stamps from across the magnitude of the British Empire.
Our seasoned experts have carefully hand-picked each piece in the collection to give you:
• Complete pleasure of ownership
• Exceptional value for money
• Superb investment potential for the future
It features 25 rare philatelic items spanning over a century of postal history, from 1859 through to 1966.
Each one a miniature time capsule of history, politics and design.
They offer you an insight into various cultures, stunning scenery and famous geographic landmarks. War and peace. Royalty and rebellion. Uprisings and independence. All yours to discover...
From Australia's earliest colonies to the exotic shores of Zanzibar...
This diverse, fascinating and varied A-Z collection covers 25 countries (except the elusive “X”, as no country begins with this letter!)
Individually, each stamp is a high quality collector's item in its own right. But together, these treasures tell a wider story.
Of how the birth of the postage stamp created a communication revolution. And how the growth of the British Empire helped this revolution circle the globe.
This collection is designed to inspire your imagination. To act as the foundation for an even greater collection and years of pleasurable ownership, wherever your interests lie.
It's a rewarding journey in every sense. And it starts right here...
Australia
Western Australia 1860-64 6d sage-green, rouletted about 14, SG32.
An enormous example with large to very large margins all round (showing portions of adjoining stamps at top and right) and exceptionally with separations complete.
Very lightly cancelled by '1' numeral of Perth. Minor tones mentioned for accuracy, but a remarkable stamp which would be difficult to improve on. A true 'condition rarity'.
The iconic Swan issue of Western Australia was used as it was the emblem of the Colony and a reminder of when it was known as the Swan River Settlement.
Price: £750
Brunei
Brunei 1908-22 $25 black/red, centrally cancelled by type D5 'BRUNEI' circular date stamp, dated '3 JUL 28', SG48.
Some short perforations at foot, yet a fine and attractive example rarely seen in such nice quality, with a clear central cancellation.
A rare stamp with genuine 'in period' cancel, with cancels pre-1945 incredibly rare as there was no actual postal rate for which this value could be used.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £1,300.
Price: £1,100
Canada
Canada 1942-48 War Effort set of 14 to $1 in IMPERFORATE pairs, SG375/88.
A very fine set of mint original gum imperforate pairs from this famous Canadian stamp issue.
All horizontal pairs except 12c (vertical from upper right corner of sheet), with 1c to 5c and 13c unmounted mint.
A rare and most attractive set. 150 pairs existed of 5c, 100c of 1c to 4c and 8c, 50 each of 13c to $1.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue price for this set is £7,700.
Price: £3,850
Dominica
Dominica 1938-47 2s slate and purple and 10s black and brown-orange (issued 15/10/47), perforated "SPECIMEN" (type W9), matching lower marginal example with "Waterlow & Sons Limited" imprint, SG106as/8as.
A fine quality pair, unmounted mint with full original gum. Lightly toned gum and 2s with a few short perforations, although still of fresh appearance.
The 2s stamp depicts Layou River and the 10s Boiling Lake. A remarkable and very rare pair in this positional form, with only six examples of each possible and a low survival rate.
"SPECIMEN" examples were used solely by postal administrations for reference purposes to help spot any attempted forgeries.
Price: £175
Egypt
British Forces in Egypt 1887 set of 10 to 'ONE HUNDRED PIASTRES' on £1 Military Telegraphs, type MT 5/7 surcharges, SGMT17/26.
A fine quality mint set with large part original gum. Only very minor imperfections with slight gum tones. Overall quality is very fine for this set, with fresh colours.
A very difficult set to assemble. Only 1,500 of the 100p stamp, and 2,100 of the 50p were printed. The usage of these stamps was limited as the vast majority were returned to the UK and destroyed.
Accompanied with Royal Philatelic Society certificates (1979) for the 50p and 100p stamps. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £1,735.
Price: £1,250
Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands 1938-50 5s indigo and pale yellow-brown, "Southern Sea Lion", SG161b, 1938 second printing, upper marginal BLOCK OF 4 (folded horizontal perforations).
A fresh unmounted mint with full original gum example. The lower right stamp with small corner crease (barely detectable), but a rarity in this form and condition.
A beautiful multiple of this popular King George VI stamp issue in a rare colour variety.
Accompanied with a 2018 British Philatelic Association (BPA) certificate of authenticity. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £4,400+.
Price: £3,950
Gibraltar
Gibraltar 1953-59 2s orange and reddish-violet, "Rosia Bay and Straits" upper left corner example SG155.
A very fine and fresh unmounted mint example with full original gum.
A splendid example of the first ever Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamps released in 1953. Gibraltar’s first ever philatelic exhibition was held to coincide with the first day of issue.
The stamp issues depict a variety of famous views of Gibraltar. This set of stamps is widely regarded by collectors worldwide as one of the best sets of Gibraltar stamps ever produced.
Price: £50
Hong Kong
Hong Kong 1903 $5 purple and blue-green, watermark CA, SG75.
A fresh and fine mint example with original gum.
These definitive stamps issued during the reign of King Edward VII are commonly referred to as the "bald man's definitives" or, more simply, "the baldies" by local stamp collectors.
Price: £650
India
Indian Feudatory States 1943 8a black and chocolate Officials, full sheet of 120, SGO29, Scott O28.
A fine entire sheet unmounted mint with full original lightly toned gum. The sheets are folded with some central separation and minor bends, to be expected with a sheet of this size.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £600.
Price: £450
Jamaica
Jamaica 1916 (Apr-Sep) "WAR STAMP" ½d yellow-green, type 19 overprint, error "OVERPRINT DOUBLE", SG68b.
A fine and fresh mint example with original gum. A few slightly short perforations do not detract from overall fine quality. A scarce war stamp error from World War I.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £140.
Jamaica joined most British colonies in 1916, by introducing a levy on correspondence to support the war effort. The Government Printer produced four overprints of "WAR STAMP" including this half penny coat of arms King George V stamp.
Price: £110
Kenya
Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika 1948, Royal Silver Wedding 20c orange and £1 scarlet, marginal blocks of 4, SG157/8.
Exceptional quality unmounted mint positional blocks of four with full original gum. Stunning and vibrant colour and most eye catching.
A choice philatelic trophy of the 1948 stamp issue to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £204+.
Price: £175
Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands 1946 Victory 1½d brown and 3d red/orange, perforated 'SPECIMENS' (type D21), SG115s/116s.
Lovely fresh mint specimen examples with large part original gum, with the 3d stamp being one of the most startling colours used for the famous Victory stamps issued to mark the end of World War II.
These "SPECIMEN" examples were used solely by postal administrations for reference purposes to help spot any attempted forgeries.
Price: £100
Malta
Malta 1922 (c.) "Melita" ½d printer's sample by De La Rue in brown and blue on surfaced wove, block of 4, imperforate, overprinted "SPECIMEN" (Samuel type DS2), SG124.
A fine and attractive philatelic piece from this important stamp issue and a very rare block of four from the printer's sample book.
In May 1921 Malta was granted Self Government and issued a new definitive set of stamps to commemorate the event.
This design by E.Caruana Dingli used for the ¼d to 6d and £1 values depicts an emblematic figure representing Malta supporting a rudder, and a seascape background containing the rock of St Elmo and a Gozo boat.
Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £1,500.
Price: £1,250
New Zealand
New Zealand 1898 6d green pictorial "Kiwi" stamp, showing very clear offset on reverse, SG254var.
A fine unmounted mint example with full original gum of spectacular appearance, hardly ever seen so fine. A small tone speck on lower left corner perforation mentioned for accuracy.
New Zealand Campbell Paterson catalogue number 14a(z) listed at a value of NZ$1,500.
Price: £475
Orange Free State
South Africa Orange Free State 1900 4d on 4d ultramarine, type 31 surcharge, with level stops, complete upper right pane of 60 (6x10) from first setting with plate number '1' and full margins except at left, showing variety 'No stop after V' at R10/3, with chart of diagnostic flaws, SG107a.
A fine and fresh unmounted mint sheet with full original gum. A few trivial gum wrinkles and overall in exceptional condition.
A wonderful exhibition piece. Very rare (possibly unique) as a complete pane. SG Catalogue value: £714++.
Price: £595
Pakistan
Pakistan 1948-56 15r blue-green 'Khyber Pass', IMPERFORATE lower left corner block of 12 (6x2) with plate number '1' and printers, De La Rue imprint, SG42.
A fine unmounted mint corner block with full original gum. Some imperfections (crease between 5th and 6th vertical pairs, printer's marginal annotation in red affecting one unit and minor wrinkles).
Despite this it remains an impressive and attractive quality piece. An important positional multiple and unique in this form.
The Khyber Pass pictorial stamps were part of the issue of the first definitive stamps of Pakistan after joining the British Commonwealth. Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £1,500.
Price: £975
Quebec
Canada 1908 Quebec Tercentenary set of 8 to 20c, in used blocks of 4, SG188/95.
A fine used set of this visually stunning portrayal of history. There are some slight faults (two 15c with defects, one 20c with corner crease) and mostly with heavyish cancels (10c with barred ovals, 7c, 15c, 20c with 'R' in ovals), but a rare and remarkable assembly. Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £1,500+.
- 1/2c - King George V and Queen Mary when Prince and Princess of Wales
- 1c - Jacques Cartier and Samuel Champlain
- 2c - King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
- 5c - Champlain's House in Quebec
- 7c - Generals Montcalm and Wolfe
- 10c - Quebec in 1700
- 15c - Champlain's Departure for the West
- 20c - Cartier's Arrival before Quebec
Price: £750
Rhodesia
Rhodesia 1910-13 2s6d sepia and deep crimson, variety 'long gash in ear' (position 2), SG156var.
A brilliant quality mint example with large part original gum. A few slightly shortish perforations, mentioned purely for accuracy, and further benefiting from lovely fresh colour. A very scarce variety.
Likely the most collected area of stamps from Rhodesia, known as "the double heads", featuring Queen Mary and King George V. Widely considered in philatelic circles as amongst the most attractive stamps ever issued.
The gash in the Queen's right ear variety only occurred on position 2 of the printing plate, and changed progressively as the printing plate was modified or electros were taken off. Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £1,275+.
Price: £1,100
St.Helena
St Helena 1934 Centenary 5s black and chocolate, SG122.
A fresh mint example with large part original gum (typical minor gum wrinkling not detracting from overall desirable quality).
This stamp comes from St. Helena's first commemorative set issued in 1934. This was a set of 10 values up to 10 shillings commemorating the centenary of British colonisation (1834-1934).
The issue has since become recognised as one of the most attractive and well-designed stamp issues ever made by any British colony.
This 5 shilling stamp features High Knoll, an old fort in the hills above the capital, Jamestown. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £100.
Price: £90
Transjordan
Transjordan 1929 (1 Jan) 4m on 15m ultramarine Postage Due, type D25 surcharge, error surcharge inverted, SGD185a.
A very fine unmounted mint example with full original gum. A very rare error as only one sheet of 100 originally existed.
The stamp depicts a portrait of Emir Abdullah ibn Hussein who played a major role alongside T.E. Lawrence during the Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule.
Abdullah was Emir and ruler of Trans-Jordan from 1921 to 1946, and then King of Jordan from 1946. He was assassinated in 1951 by a Palestinian gunman, who thought Abdullah was planning to make a separate peace with Israel.
Price: £190
Uganda
Uganda 1896 (7 Nov) Typeset 2a black on thick white wove, handstamped 'L' (type 7) for local use, lower left corner block of 4, showing variety 'Small O in POSTAGE' on upper left stamp (R3/1), SG71/a.
A fine and fresh unused block. Trivial wrinkling mentioned for accuracy, but a fine and very scarce positional multiple.
The first stamps of Uganda under the British Empire were only valid for internal postage. Then Reverend Ernest Millar at Mengo of the Church Missionary Society produced the first stamps on his typewriter from 1895-1896.
These are some of the most crude and valuable pieces of paper ever created.
The Typeset stamps which followed in 1896 were used locally with few examples surviving, and most of those have serious condition issues.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £910+.
Price: £850
Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands 1887-89 4d chestnut, watermark CA, complete sheet of 24 (8x3), SG35.
A brilliant quality mint complete sheet with original gum and with most stamps unmounted mint. Some very minor marginal blemishes, but exceptionally fresh.
A rarity in this form and condition. The "Virgin" stamp issues have long been adored by collectors. The stamp features a depiction of Saint Ursula who, according to legend, had 11,000 virginal handmaidens, after whom the islands had been named.
The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £840+.
Price: £800
Wales
Great Britain 1958 1s6d grey-blue (Wales, cream paper) imprimaturs, SGW6var.
A superb unmounted mint with full original gum bottom marginal horizontal pair of imperforate imprimaturs each with a "BPMA" handstamp on reverse, showing central sheet diving arrow in margin.
A scarce Queen Elizabeth II imperforate pair of imprimaturs.
Exceptional provenance as they were released from the British Postal Museum Archives in 2014. Prior to this they were stored in the museum archives in climate controlled vaults since being printed and are therefore in uncirculated mint condition.
Price: £2,000
Yemen
South Arabian Federation 1966 (1 Apr) Qu'aiti 10f on 15c bronze-green 'weaving', type 23 Churchill overprint, error overprint INVERTED, SG66a.
A very fine unmounted mint example with full original gum. A scarce variety presented in the highest condition grade.
The Federation of South Arabia was a short-lived federal state under British protection in what would become South Yemen. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South. The State of Aden joined the federation on 18 January 1963.
In June 1964, the Upper Aulaqi Sultanate was added bringing in 17 states. The Federation was abolished on 30 November 1967, when its status as a British protectorate came to an end.
Price: £60
Zanzibar
Zanzibar 1930 (Oct) group of four stamp-size "bromides" of different hand-painted Postage Due essays based on the 1923 Hong Kong "postal scales" design, each denominated "20c", affixed to piece of card (60x53mm) from the Bradbury, Wilkinson archives, with two dated "6.10.30" and two "17.10.30" above the designs, SGD25/30.
Prepared after on approach by the Crown Agents, but the introduction of a permanent Postage Due set was delayed until 1 January 1936. A unique and fascinating group and a huge asset to any serious exhibition of Zanzibar Postage Due issues.
Provenance: ex Griffith-Jones, and Spink Auction 9 July 2013 lot 147 (realised £1,440), illustrated and discussed on p.204 of his book.
Price: £1,250
This superb A-Z of British Empire Stamps Collection has taken our experts years to assemble.
It's a unique philatellic journey that will give you pleasure and pride of ownership.
This is your chance to own it at a once-in-a-lifetime price.
The full catalogue value of this collection is £32,668.
But you can purchase it now for just £22,995.
That's a remarkable 30% discount. And a personal saving of £9,673.
This price will not be repeated. So don't miss out. To purchase the collection, contact us now.
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