Identifying the Turks & Caicos Islands 1913 Set is a matter of sorting between the various similar designs used for the King George V definitives from the Colony, the watermarks, color shades and paper colors for many of the values. This set of stamps replaced the King Edward VII set beginning in 1913, and was replaced with a new design in 1922.

Many collectors have trouble just determining the differences between the design used for these stamps. Shown below are examples from the 1/2d values of the 1913, 1922, and 1928 issues. Look underneath the King's portrait to see the differences between a scroll holding the value in the 1913 set, and a rectangle holding the value in the 1922 and 1928 sets. The 1913 and 1922 sets are marked Postage only, while the 1928 Set is marked Postage & Revenue. You should also notice that the value is shown on the top of the 1913 set, but it was replaced by a crown and moved toward the bottom on the other two sets.

The stamps were initially printed on paper watermarked Multiple Crown CA, and later some of the values also printed on paper watermarked Multiple Script CA. 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 identified 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. Thick paper tends to not show less of the black background when you look at the back of the stamp against black paper. Colored and thick paper is best identified looking at the back of the stamp also. The yellow paper and green paper issues are shown on the linked web sites. 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 modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. I do not have the print quantities for this set, but would be happy to add them if someone submits them to me.

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.

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