Straits Settlements were initially established as a trading station under the East India Company. Over time, it included the territories of Malacca, Penang and Singapore. Initially stamps from East India were used, but eventually Straits Settlements stamps were produced beginning in 1867.

The 1937 set features the image of King George VI, and was printed on paper watermarked with Multiple Script CA. You can identify stamps from this set by first sorting by print die for some issues and then identifying the various colors that evolved as the stamps were printed. There is also a paper difference for a few values, but they do not need to be identified because each value was printed on the same paper type. The Malay Peninsula was overrun by the Japanese in December, 1941, so these stamps were only in use for a few years.

Two print dies were used for the production of some of the stamps. Initially the stamps were printed in two operations using what is referred to as Die I. Later printings of the 2c, 3c, 4c, 5c, and 15c stamps were printed using a new die that resulted in one operation. This is referred to as Die II. The easiest way to differentiate between the dies is to look at the palm leaves on the right side. Die I has two points to the leaves, and Die II has one point. You might also notice the crisp impression and the way the lines and palm trees touch the oval in the image in Die I and the separation in Die II. The Dies are noted for the stamps where there are two options. All of the other stamps are Die I. See the images below to see the differences:

Many collectors have trouble identifying colors. I find it helps to have a number of stamps to sort rather than just one or two. I place all of the same value stamps on black and then white paper and look at them under a strong light. The color differences tend to stand out when viewed this way. Then it becomes a matter of deciding if a stamp is a darker or paler in comparison to the other stamps in the group you are sorting. When you have isolated the color differences, look at your catalogue reference to see what is listed. Remember there were multiple printings of this set, so there should be some variation in many of the values. You can use the stamps shown below as a reference of what might be found.

The catalog numbers are from the 2008 Commonwealth King George VI Postage Stamp Catalogue (CW) published by Murray Payne, 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). You can access the catalogue publishers using the "Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites" at the bottom of this page.

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.

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or include a correction.