Having been requested to write a short summary about the early issues of the above Island I am hoping that the following remarks will prove of interest to those endeavouring to study these beautiful stamps. I have reason to believe all that is likely to be known can be found in some magazine or book published in more or less recent years, but I have tried to compress what matters most in the following notes.
The original design, thanks to the excellent work of the engraver Charles Henry Jeens, employed by Perkins Bacon & Co., is unquestionably one of the finest ever depicted on a postage stamp and it is, but for two exceptions, the only one I am dealing with on this occasion.
The majority of the stamps in question may be easily recognised by the average collector, but there are a few that require some little knowledge before they can be accepted as the true thing.
Using Stanley Gibbons' catalogue numbers, No. 1 is perhaps the most difficult of all to identify for certain, as the catalogue description "Intermediate Perforation" does not, unfortunately, really fit the case. The Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society will not give a good certificate .for this No. 1 unless it is found on a cover or large piece bearing a date prior to the second delivery of stamps from England t o the Island in August 1861, as the perforations are so indefinite. A poor perforating machine happened to be employed at this period and the proved stamps can be found with possibly intermediate perforations on one, two or possibly three sides, but this alone is no true guide, as the second delivery may at times be similarly described. In consequence of this mint copies of this particular stamp are always doubtful as the true thing. A very interesting and informative article written by an American, Mr. Arthur Pierce, appeared in the "Philatelist" a short while ago on this very subject.
Of No. 2, issued at the same time as the One Penny, there is no question fortunately, as the stamp was printed in yellow-green, whereas the second delivery was in a definite deepish green. The former in mint state is a rare stamp today. The Penny stamp, I should add, whether classed as No. 1 or No. 3 is found imperforate vertically, but it is believed these are only remainders and never reached the Island. The fact that good sized blocks have been found confirms this view.
The next stamp of importance is S.G. Is No. 7, with the wide and narrow perforations. I t is so often faked that anyone seeking it should be very careful when and where he gets it. I have heard s o far of only one mint pair (vertical) which I am fortunate enough to possess. Nos. 7a and 7b Imperforate were never issued, and can occasionally be found with an ink line cancellation across the stamps.
No. 9 is worth mentioning as it is a good stamp - far from common in mint state, whilst it is still questionable in some minds whether used copies so far found are the real thing or not.
No. 12, the Four Pence yellow is not readily come by in perfect mint state and blocks are quite rare.
No. 14, the Shilling brown generally comes poorly or unevenly perforated, thus well centred copies whether mint or used are decidely uncommon.
The three One Shillings, Nos. 17, 19 and 20 are nice stamps to possess, especially in mint state and unless one can see the three together it is not very easy to tell one from the other. No. 19 curiously is generally found cancelled with a red postmark.
The Six Pence pale yellow-green, No. 23, perforated 15 is a very elusive stamp to acquire in mint state and as only 6,000 copies were ever printed it is not surprising when one remembers it did duty for over three years.
No. 24 is worth mentioning as it is not always easy to tell this Four Pence from No.8 unless the watermark Star is readily discernible.
The next stamp to comment upon is the very fine Five Shillings of an entirely new design by the engraver William Ridgway. This in rose-red (called by the printers "pink") when of perfect form is something every collector is anxious to possess. Imperforate copies are listed, but I have never seen one.