Virgin Islands
King Edward VII Definitive Issues

Watermarked Multiple Crown CA
Updated - January, 2018
 

Identifying the Virgin Islands King Edward VII issues is very simple. All of the stamps have the same watermark (Multiple Crown CA), and there are no listed color shades. The keyplate design was originally created for the Queen Victoria issues from several Colonies, and modified for use during King Edward's reign was used to replace the badge of the colony stamps issued starting in 1899. These stamps were issued beginning in 1904 and continued to be used until they were replaced by the King George V issues in 1913.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. I do not have the number printed, but would expect that less than 10,000 of the 5/ stamps were printed - based on the numbers produced for other Colonies during this time period.

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 and dates are from the Commonwealth Catalogue. I am not sure I agree with every color description, but it is a relative thing. You really need to see a number of stamps to really sort by color. 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. All of the stamps issued during King Edward VII's reign are shown here rather than in groups because there are so few from the first watermark. You will find them grouped differently in the catalogs.

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.

CW E1 - SG 54 - ST 29
1/2d Dull Purple &
Green
CW E2 - SG 55 - ST 30
1d Dull Purple &
Scarlet
CW E3 - SG 56 - ST 31
2d Dull Purple &
Ochre
     
CW E4 - SG 57 - ST 32
2-1/2d Dull Purple &
Ultramarine
CW E5 - SG 58 - ST 33
3 d Dull Purple &
Black
CW E6 - SG 59 - ST 34
6d Dull Purple &
Brown
     
   
  CW E7 - SG 60 - ST 35
1/ Green &
Scarlet
CW E8 - SG 61 - ST 36
2/6 Green &
Black
 
       
CW E9 - SG 62 - ST 37
5/ Green &
Blue
       

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 Virgin Islands Stamps for sale based on the identification from this article.
       
Index to KGVI Stamp Description Web Sites
       
Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites