The Gambia KGVI set of stamps was printed from 1938 until 1952 when it was replaced by the first QEII set. The stamps were printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson who also produced the stamps of the Falkland Islands, Gambia, St. Vincent, and other colonies.

The goal of this page is to help you sort your stamps based on the information presented in 'The Stamps and Postal History of the Gambia' by J.O. Andrews, published in 1985 by the West Africa Study Circle. The article was based on the work of Frank Saunders which was originally published by the King George VI Collectors' Society. The article is the starting point for

sorting the stamps shown on this web site. The goal is to accurately convey the information as presented in the article and then to add updated catalog numbers, and interpretations of what was observed as the stamps were sorted.

My theory in sorting these and other KGVI stamps is that if you accumulate enough good quality sets of stamps and compare them, you should find the various printings. The stamps sorted for this website were accumulated over about 40 years. There were between 15-25 stamps of each value, so they should represent a reasonable sample of the range of issues produced. The stamps were sorted starting with the high values first because there are less possible options. The information learned from the high values was used to make decisions about the low value stamps where there are more possible alternatives.

The listing below shows the information transcribed from the original published article. The catalog numbers added are subject to interpretation since they were not all part of the original publication. Although it is possible that there are additional listings, it is only our goal to help you sort your stamps based on this starting point. So please feel free to add any missing information by emailing using the link below.

The catalog numbers are from the 2008 Commonwealth Catalogue (CW), the 2011 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST).

The images were saved in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in sorting them. Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for this page to load, and just scroll down to read the entire thing. For those of you who are viewing this on a phone - find a PC. You will go blind if you try to read this on a small screen.
 
Gambia 1938 Set Listings.
Value Date Head Color Frame Color Paper & Gum Description CW# SG# ST#
1/2d 1938 Black Bluish-Green Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 1 150 132
1/2d 1939? Brownish-Black Yellowish-Green Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 1 150 132
1/2d 11/1942 Deeper Brownish-Black Yellowish-Green Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 1 150 132
1/2d 1/1947 Greyish-Black Green Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 1 150 132
1/2d 9/1952 Black Yellow-Green Thin brittle white paper; white gum 1 150 132
               
1d 1938 Purple Deep Brown Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 2 151 133
1d 1939? Bright Purple Deep Grey-Brown Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 2 151 133
1d 6/1943 Reddish-Purple Deep Grey-Brown Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 2 151 133
1d 1/1947 Mauve Deep Grey-Brown Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 2 151 133
1d 1/1950 Reddish-Mauve Deep Grey-Brown Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 2 151 133
1d 9/1950 Deep Mauve Deep Chocolate Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 2 151 133
1d 9/1952 Deep Bright Mauve Deep Chocolate Thin brittle white paper; white gum 2 151 133
               
1-1/2d 1938 Lake Bright Carmine Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 3 152 134
1-1/2d 1939? Deep Lake Carmine-Red Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 3a 152a 134
1-1/2d 1940-41 Dull Lake Scarlet Thinner off-white paper; creamy gum 3a 152b 134
1-1/2d 10/1944 Violet-Blue Grey-Black Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 1/1946 Bright Blue Grey-Black Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 2/1948 Deep Bright Blue Deep Grey-Black Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 6/1948 Bright Blue Grey-Black Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 1/1950 Deep Blue Grey-Black Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 9/1950 Duller Deep Blue Grey-Black Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 4 152c 134A
1-1/2d 9/1952 Deep Bright Blue Deep Grey-Black Thin brittle white paper; white gum 4 152c 134A
               
2d 1938 Blue Grey-Black Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 5 153 135
2d 1939? Dull Violet-Blue Grey-Black Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 5 153 135
2d 6/1943 Deep Purplish-Lake Scarlet Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 6 153a 135A
2d 1/1946 Lake Scarlet Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 6 153a 135A
2d 1/1950 Lake Paler Scarlet Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 6 153a 135A
2d 9/1950 Mauvish-Lake Paler Scarlet Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 6 153a 135A
2d 9/1952 Rosy-Lake Scarlet Thin brittle white paper; white gum 6 153a 135A
               
3d 1938 Light Blue Deep Grey-Blue Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 7 154 136
3d 1939? Bright Light Blue Deep Dull Grey-Blue Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 7 154 136
3d 4/1945 Dull Light Blue Deep Dull Grey-Blue Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 7 154 136
3d 1/1946 Bright Light Blue Deep Grey-Blue Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 7 154 136
3d 6/1948 Bright Light Blue Deep Grey-Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 7 154 136
3d 1/1950 Bright Light Blue Deep Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 7 154 136
3d 9/1950 Milky-Blue Deep Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 7 154 136
3d 9/1952 Bright Light Blue Deep Violet-Blue Thin brittle white paper; white gum 7 154 136
               
5d 1941 Olive-Green Purple Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 8 154a 136A
5d 6/1943 Yellowish-Olive-Green Deep Purple Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 8 154a 136A
5d 7/1945 Greenish-Olive Green Brownish-Purple Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 8 154a 136A
5d 6/1946 Yellowish-Olive-Green Brownish-Purple Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 8 154a 136A
               
6d 1938 Dark Olive-Green Reddish-Claret Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 9 155 137
6d 1939? Yellowish-Olive Green Duller Claret Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 9 155 137
6d 6/1945 Greenish-Olive Green Dull Claret Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 9a 155 137
6d 1/1946 Deep Greenish-Olive Green Deep Dull Claret Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 9a 155 137
6d 1/1947 Olive-Green Deep Claret Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 9a 155 137
6d 2/1948 Deep Greenish-Olive Green Reddish-Claret Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 9a 155 137
6d 1/1950 Deep Greenish-Olive Green Deep Purplish-Claret Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 9a 155 137
6d 9/1950 Greyish-Olive Green Purplish-Claret Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 9a 155 137
6d 9/1952 Deep Yellowish-Olive Green Purplish-Claret Thin brittle white paper; white gum 9a 155 137
               
1/ 1938 Bluish-Slate Bright Violet Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 10 156 138
1/ 1939? Slate Purple-Violet Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 10 156 138
1/ 6/1943 Slate Purple-Violet Thinner white paper; transparent white gum 10 156 138
1/ 4/1945 Greyish-Slate Pale Purple Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 10 156 138
1/ 1/1947 Greenish-Slate Purple-Violet Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 10 156 138
1/ 1/1950 Slate Dull Purple-Violet Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 10 156 138
1/ 9/1950 Greyish-Slate Pale Violet Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 10 156 138
1/ 9/1952 Greenish-Grey-Slate Purple-Violet Thin brittle white paper; white gum 10 156 138
               
1/3 11/1946 Deep Red-Brown Light Blue Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 11 156a 138A
1/3 9/1950 Chocolate Deeper Light Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 11 156a 138A
               
2/ 1938 Bright Rose-Carmine Blue Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 12 157 139
2/ 1939? Rose-Carmine Blue Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 12 157 139
2/ 4/1945 Carmine Deeper Blue Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 12a 157 139
2/ 1/1947 Deep Carmine Deep Bright Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 12a 157 139
2/ 9/1950 Rose-Carmine Deep Bright Blue Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 12a 157 139
               
2/6 1938 Sepia Greyish-Olive Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 13 158 140
2/6 1939? Brown-Sepia Greenish-Olive Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 13 158 140
2/6 1/1946 Brown-Sepia Greenish-Olive Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 13 158 140
2/6 9/1950 Pale Sepia Pale Olive Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum 13 158 140
               
4/ 1938 Vermilion Purple Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 14 159 141
4/ 1939? Orange-Vermilion Bright Purple Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 14 159 141
4/ 1/1947 Bright Vermilion Purple Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 14 159 141
               
5/ 1938 Dark Grey-Blue Vermilion Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 15 160 142
5/ 1939? Dark Grey-Blue Vermilion Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 15 160 142
5/ 1/1947 Dark Blue Brighter Vermilion Thin opaque paper; opaque white gum? 15 160 142
               
10/ 1938 Orange Grey-Black Medium thick off-white paper; whitish gum 16 161 143
10/ 1939? Orange Grey-Black Medium thick cream paper; cream gum 16 161 143
10/ 10/1944 Yellower-Orange Deeper Grey-Black Thin, white, rather transparent paper; transparent white gum 16 161 143
 
Steps in Sorting your Stamps

The listing can be pretty daunting at first, but there is a lot of information that can be used to identify your stamps. These steps will help you as you compare your stamps to the listing:

Paper & Gum Characteristics - Generally there are three broad categories: Cream Paper, Medium White Paper, and Thinner White Paper. You will find two versions of the cream paper, a couple of variations in the medium white paper (which are not shown), and two alternatives for the thinner white paper.

Color - Various shades were used in some printings that can help identify the stamps when viewed in relation to the other components like the paper and gum. I do not recommend just trying to compare colors alone.

Perforation - There are no significant differences in the perforation of these stamps. So this is not a factor in identification.

Here is an overview of how to compare your stamps using these traits. If you do them in the order presented, it is a lot easier.
 
Paper and Gum Characteristics
One important thing to remember when sorting these and other King George VI stamps is that there were multiple printings and they were printed using paper and gum that was available during the time they were produced. Today, we have computer matching of color and other components, but in the 1930's thru the 1950's when the King George VI stamps were produced it was all done differently. Combine that with the shortages of materials due to the war, and you have a lot of reasons why there are paper and gum characteristics that can be used to assign your stamps to a time period. If you collect any of the other Bradbury, Wilkinson countries, you will notice similarities between the printings of those countries and the ones from Gambia.

I sort for paper and gum by placing the stamps from one value face down on black paper and looking at them in the middle of 2 spotlamps with 60 watt incadescent bulbs. This puts out a good light source and makes the stamp differences show up clearly. I start with the high value stamps and compare all of the stamps from one value at a time. In the case of Gambia, I had over 20 copies of each value, so there were a number of stamps to view. (Doing this with 2 stamps is not as effective.) Using this method, any toned or climate affected stamps are left out, the remaining stamps are sorted into three groups - creamy gum, thinner off-white gum and bright white gum. Once this has been done, I compare the creamy gum stamps to see if there are crackles in the gum (1938) or if it is smooth (1939). Then I focus on the bright white gum stamps to see if there are any that seem a lot whiter and have a slight texture to them (1952). Finally the off-white gum stamps are compared based on the level of transparency of the watermark (you only need this for the low values). When this is done, I look at the colors and compare them to my reference to make my decisions. I realize this is not very scientific, but that is why I titled this web site "Sorting the King George VI Gambia 1938 Set" and not "Identifying it".
 
Mr. Saunders helps us with this determination by providing a description of the paper and gum in his listings. Below are scans of the various paper and gum charactistics that were found on the stamps that were sorted. Please keep in mind that there is variation in every option, so you have to use this as a general guide rather than an exact one. Also, please note that you will see the details much better under good lighting than you can see in the scans. I set the scanner for 600 dpi and it was still not capable of showing traits that are visible, like the crackly gum in the 1938 issues and the brittle feature of the 1952 printings.
1938 Paper & Gum - look for the crackly appearance
Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum		 1939 Paper & Gum - smooth and darker than 1938
Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
1945-1946 Paper & Gum - look for the watermark
Thin, white, rather transparent paper
Transparent, white gum		 1948-1950 Paper & Gum - brighter white
Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
1952 Paper & Gum - brighter white than 1948-50 paper
This is found on some of the low value stamps only.
You should see small ridges that are not present on the 1948-50 printings.
Thin, brittle white paper
White gum
   
It is a lot easier comparing these if you have a number of copies. Put your stamps face down on black paper under a strong light and look at what seems similar and what seems different. These scans do not show a few things that you might see. The line perf stamps will appear to have crackly gum compared the relatively flatter appearing gum from the comb perf cream paper stamps. Also, the thinner white paper stamps will tend to have a much more visible watermark than the medium paper stamps.
 
Color
Compare the colors after you have isolated the various papers. This is because of the great similarity in most of the colors between printings. I do not think it is possible to determine the printings by just comparing colors by themselves. Notice that other than the low value stamps, if you have them sorted by paper, there are only a few options. Use the images below to make relative comparisons. They will probably not match your stamps exactly. They should be used to determine which color is lighter, or darker than the other after you determine the paper.
Although it would be great if I could tell you how to find every possible stamp in this group, I do not have all those answers. It gets very complex as you get into the lower values because there are more printings and some of the colors do not vary by that much. So I will only show you the values over 1/ and let you make your own decisions about the rest of them. What follows are each of the 1/3, 2/, 2/6, 4/, 5/ and 10/ listings and how to identify them. The 1-1/2d printings are also included because of the high value first printing.

Please remember as you view the listings that these are my best guesses as I sorted the stamps I have accumulated based on the description. It is possible there are errors, but in my opinion the results are consistent when compared to other stamps from the same relative time period.
 Gambia 1-1/2d Printings
This is actually a very easy printing to sort if you remember two things. You probably do not have the 1938 printing, and most likely 90% of the stamps you view are from the 1940-41 printing. If you have any stamps that are not scarlet, but actually are carmine, compare the paper and gum. If you see little crackles in a bright white paper you have the 1938 printing. If the paper and gum has a smooth appearance, it is probably the 1939 printing. My suggestion is that you employ this test on any stamp you consider buying. For the record, the carmine color is brighter on the 1938 printing than the 1939 printing, but I would not make this the deciding factor before making a purchase.
1-1/2d Lake & Bright Carmine
1938 Printing		 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
1-1/2d Deep Lake & Carmine-Red
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
1-1/2d Dull Lake & Scarlet
1940-41 Printing		 Thinner, off-white paper
Creamy gum
 
Gambia 1/3 Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
I will agree that it seems like the paper descriptions do not match what you see, but when you compare the other printings, they do seem to be correct.
The bright white paper of the 1950 printing seems a lot scarcer than the 1946 printing, so if you only have a few stamps, it is likely they are from the 1946 printing.
 
1/3 Deep Red-Brown & Light Blue
12/1946 Printing		 Thin, white, rather transparent paper
Transparent, white gum
1/3 Chocolate & Deeper Light Blue
9/1950 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
   
Gambia 2/ Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
You cannot see the cracks that are visible in the 1938 printing in the scan, but they are very visible under a good light. The 1939 printing has a creamy colored gum and the watermark is not very transparent which makes the paper appear thicker. The 1945 paper seems to be the most transparent so the paper appears thinner (you will see the watermark when looking at it on top of black paper). The later printings are on a whiter and brighter paper compared to the 1945 paper. I found a lot of 1938 and 1945 printings, and not many of the other three. So if you can't decide on your stamps, they are probably from those two printings.
2/ Bright Rose-Carmine & Blue
1938 Printing		 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
2/ Rose-Carmine & Blue
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
2/ Carmine & Deeper Blue
4/1945 Printing		 Thin, white, rather transparent paper
Transparent, white gum
2/ Deep Carmine & Deep Bright Blue
1/1947 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
2/ Rose-Carmine & Deep Bright Blue
9/1950 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
   
Gambia 2/6 Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
You cannot see the cracks that are visible in the 1938 printing in the scan, but they are very visible under a good light. The 1939 printing has a creamy colored gum and the watermark is not very transparent which makes the paper appear thicker. The 1946 paper seems to be the most transparent so the paper appears thinner (you will see the watermark when looking at it on top of black paper). The 1950 paper is whiter and brighter paper compared to the 1945 paper. I found a lot of 1938 and 1945 printings, and not many of the other two. So if you can't decide on your stamps, they are probably from those two printings.
2/6 Sepia & Greyish-Olive
1938 Printing		 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
2/6 Brown-Sepia & Greenish-Olive
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
2/6 Brown-Sepia & Greenish-Olive
1/1946 Printing		 Thin, white, rather transparent paper
Transparent, white gum
2/6 Pale Sepia & Pale Olive
9/1950 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
Gambia 4/ Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
You cannot see the cracks that are visible in the 1938 printing in the scan, but they are very visible under a good light. The 1939 printing has a creamy colored gum and the watermark is not very transparent which makes the paper appear thicker. The 1947 is whiter and brighter paper compared to the other two. I found a lot of 1938 printings, and not many of the other two. So if you can't decide on your stamps, they are probably from the 1938 printing.
4/ Vermilion & Purple
1938 Printing		 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
4/ Orange-Vermilion & Bright Purple
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
4/ Bright Vermilion & Purple
1 /1947 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
Gambia 5/ Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
You cannot see the cracks that are visible in the 1938 printing in the scan, but they are very visible under a good light. The 1939 printing has a creamy colored gum and the watermark is not very transparent which makes the paper appear thicker. The 1947 is whiter and brighter paper compared to the other two. I found a lot of 1938 printings, and not many of the other two. So if you can't decide on your stamps, they are probably from the 1938 printing.

5/ Dark Grey-Blue & Vermilion
1938 Printing

 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
5/ Dark Grey-Blue & Vermilion
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
5/ Dark Blue & Brighter Vermilion
1 /1947 Printing		 Thin, opaque paper
Opaque, white gum
Gambia 10/ Printings
Sort by paper and gum and then compare the colors of the paper options to make your choice.
You cannot see the cracks that are visible in the 1938 printing in the scan, but they are very visible under a good light. The 1939 printing has a creamy colored gum and the watermark is not very transparent which makes the paper appear thicker. The 1947 is whiter and brighter paper compared to the other two. I found a lot of 1938 printings, and not many of the other two. So if you can't decide on your stamps, they are probably from the 1938 printing.

10/ Orange & Grey-Black
1938 Printing

 Medium, thick, off-white paper
Whitish gum
10/ Orange & Grey-Black
1939 Printing		 Medium, thick, cream paper
Cream gum
10/ Yellower Orange & Deeper Grey-Black
10/1944 Printing		 Thin, white, rather transparent paper
Transparent, white gum
   
Unlike some KGVI sets, this one is not very inexpensive or available. So I don't expect a large number of collectors will want to spend the time or money to accumulate enough copies to sort, or enough mental agony to try to figure them out. That is the reason I put this site together when I sorted these stamps. When I started collecting KGVI printings, the stamps were plentiful and rather inexpensive (compared to the older issues). So I was able to obtain a number of sets. This is not possible today. So the goal of putting this into a web page is to retain a record of what was seen when the accumulation was sorted. Hopefully it will help other collectors if they take up identifying this set.
 

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or include a correction.
         
Comments or Questions feel free to write
         
Gambia Stamps for sale based on the identification from this article.
         
Index to KGVI Stamps Web Sites
         
Links to other British Colonial Stamp Sites