Trinidad & Tobago
King George V
Multiple Crown CA Issues

Updated - December, 2017
 

Identifying the Trinidad & Tobago King George V issues watermarked Multiple Crown CA is a matter of sorting between the two watermark options: Multiple Crown CA (MCA) and Multiple Script CA (MSCA), and then determining the color and paper color shades for all of the values. This set of stamps replaced the King Edward VII Multiple Crown CA watermarked paper beginning in 1913. It was continued on the new paper watermarked Multiple Script CA in 1921.

If you have trouble determining the watermarks on these stamps, try looking at them face down against black paper. The stamps watermarked Multiple Crown CA will have sans serif letters with a crown that is narrow and straight edged. The Multiple Script CA watermark has cursive letters and a crown that is more rounded. See the images of the two watermarks below for reference. They are shown as normally seen from the back.

Once you have determined the watermark, the next step is to sort the colors. Color shades can be difficult to sort, especially when you only have a couple of stamps to compare. They typically occur when the stamps are printed after the initial printing. Today we have computer color matching, but during this time it was done by hand with components that might differ from the original ink formula. I like to place the stamps against black and then white paper and view them under a strong light. You really need to look at the back of the stamps to see the paper colors clearly. Please see this web site to view the various King George V era 4d yellow and the 1/ green backs. The images shown attempt to show the colors, but they do not show them as well as viewing the stamps in person. So use the images as relative indicators.

Unlike many of the British West Indies Colonies, there a lot of printings for this set. The stamps shown below are the best examples of the various colors, but since there are so many possibilities - it is possible that I do not have them all. If you have a better example of one of these listings please feel free to contact me with the details.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. I do not have the details on the printings for this set, but considering how many reprints were issued, it is likely that the numbers are a lot more than other Colony's issues.

The catalog numbers are from the 1980 Commonwealth Five Reigns Catalogue (CW), 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The description is from the Commonwealth Catalogue. Please contact Bridger & Kay to obtain a copy of this publication. You can access the other 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.

       
   
  Watermark
Multiple Crown CA
Watermark
Multiple Script CA
 
   
CW G1 - SG 149 - ST 1
1/2d Green
CW G2 - SG 149a - ST 1
1/2d Yellow-Green
CW G3 - SG 149b - ST 1
1/2d Dark Green
CW G4 - SG 149c - ST 1
1/2d Blue-Green
Bluish Paper
       

CW G4a - SG 149c - ST 1
1/2d Blue-Green
Thick Bluish Paper
CW G5 - SG 150 - ST 2a
1d Bright Red
CW G6 - SG 150a - ST 2
1d Scarlet
CW G7 - SG 150b - ST 2
1d Pink
Thick Paper
       
CW G8 - SG 150c - ST 2
1d Rose-Carmine
Bluish Paper
CW G8a - SG 150c - ST 2
1d Rose-Carmine
Thick Bluish Paper
CW G9 - SG 151 - ST 4
2-1/2d Ultramarine
CW G10 - SG 151b - ST 4
2-1/2d Deep Blue
       
CW G11 - SG 151b - ST 4
2-1/2d Bright Blue
Bluish Paper
CW G11a - SG 151a - ST 4
2-1/2d Bright Blue
Thick Bluish Paper
CW G12 - SG 152a - ST 5
4d Grey &
Red
Yellow Ordinary Paper
CW G12 - SG 152 - ST 5
4d Grey &
Red
Yellow Chalk Paper
       
CW G12a - SG 152d - ST 5
4d Grey &
Red
Pale Yellow Paper
CW G12b - SG 152 - ST 5
4d Grey &
Red
Thick Buff Paper
CW G13 - SG 152c - ST 5
4d Black &
Bright Red
Lemon Paper
CW G13a - SG 152 - ST 5
4d Black &
Bright Red
Yellow Paper
       
CW G13b - SG 152a - ST 8
4d Black &
Bright Red
Yellow Paper
White Back
CW G14 - SG 152 - ST 5
4d Black &
Dull Red
Yellow Paper
CW G15 - SG 153 - ST 6
6d Dull Purple &
Reddish-Purple
CW G16 - SG 153a - ST 6
6d Dull Purple &
Deep Purple
       
CW G17 - SG 153a - ST 6
6d Dull Purple &
Violet
CW G18 - SG 153b - ST 6
6d Dull Purple &
Mauve
CW G19 - SG 154 - ST 7
1/ Black
Green Paper
CW G19a - SG 154a - ST 9
1/ Black
Green Paper
White Back
       
   
  CW G19b - SG 154b - ST 7b
1/ Black
Blue-Green Paper
Olive Back
CW G19c - SG 154c - ST 7a
1/ Black
Emerald Paper
 
       
The Commonwealth Descriptions and the Stanley Gibbons Descriptions and dates do not match for the 5/ and £1 values.
The stamps are shown by Commonwealth and the Gibbons numbers are a best guess.
 
 
CW G20 - SG 155c - ST 10
5/ Purple &
Bright Purple
CW G21 - SG 155d - ST 10
5/ Brown-Purple &
Deep Purple
CW G22 - SG 155 - ST 10
5/ Pale Purple &
Mauve
       
   
  CW G23 - SG 155b - ST 10
5/ Dull Violet &
Deep Violet
CW G24 - SG 155a - ST 10
5/ Deep Purple &
Bright Violet
 
       
 
 
CW G25 - SG 156 - ST 11
£1 Green &
Carmine
CW G26 - SG 156 - ST 11
£1 Deep Yellow-Green &
Pink
CW G27 - SG 156a - ST 11
£1 Pale Yellow-Green &
Crimson
       
   
  CW G28 - SG 156a - ST 11
£1 Grey-Green &
Rose-Pink
CW G29 - SG 156a - ST 11
£1 Deep Green &
Rose-Pink
 
       

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
 
Classic Trinidad & Tobago Stamps for sale based on the identification from this article.
       
Index to KGVI Stamp Description Web Sites
       
Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites