British Guiana Definitive Issues
Watermarked Multiple Crown CA

Updated - February, 2020
 

Identifying the King Edward VII British Guiana watermarked Multiple Crown CA Badge of the Colony issues is primarily a matter of determining the watermark and then sorting between ordinary and chalk paper for many of the issues. The design was used from 1889 thru 1910 with two different watermarks. This article deals only with the issues watermarked Multiple Crown CA, which was printed from 1905 until it was replaced by the King George V issues in 1913.

If you have trouble determining the watermarks on these stamps, try looking at them face down against black paper. The stamps watermarked Crown CA will always be centered fairly well to the stamp, and the design does not repeat, so even if you can not see the entire watermark, the CA will always be toward the bottom. The stamps watermarked Multiple Crown CA will have the CA on the sides as well as the bottom, so it is pretty easy to differentiate between them. See the images below for reference. There are watermark varieties for some of the stamps in this set. These include inverted and reversed watermarks. The images shown below are the way the watermark should look as seen from the back of the stamp. Anything different will be one of the varieties.

Once you have determined the watermark, the next step for nine of the stamp values is to sort them between ordinary and chalk paper. The initial stamps were printed on ordinary paper. The later issues were printed on chalk coated paper. Although a silver coin will draw a line when rubbed gently against most chalk paper, I find this does not work very well for the KEVII watermarked MCA issues. I look for a shiny coating on the paper when viewed under a good light source. You can also rub your finger across the face of the stamp. It will slide easily over the chalk coated paper, and will feel like it is catching against the ordinary paper. Another test is the quality of the impression. The chalk treatment was used to insure a better quality printing. For the record, the term chalk is not scientifically accurate, but it is the term that has been used in the catalogs. In order to help you get a feel for identifying the two paper types, each stamp is marked with the paper type, even if it only has one option.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. The $2.40 value which was an overprinted revenue stamp was printed in a total quantity of 5,240 stamps.

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. 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. Although the catalogues show these separately, all of the issues are shown by value in the order they were printed.

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
Crown CA
Used for the 1889 issues
Watermark
Multiple Crown CA
Used for the issues after 1905
 
       
CW E7 - SG 240 - ST 160
1c Grey-Green
Ordinary Paper
CW E7 - SG 240b - ST 160
1c Grey-Green
Chalk Paper
CW E8 - SG 240c - ST 160a
1c Blue-Green
Ordinary Paper
CW E9 - SG 241 - ST 161
2c Purple &
Black
Red Ordinary Paper
       
CW E9 - SG 241a - ST 161
2c Purple &
Black
Red Chalk Paper
CW E10 - SG 253 - ST 172
2c Rose-Red
Initial Image
CW E25 - SG 253a - ST 172b
2c Rose-Red
Redrawn Image
CW E11 - SG 242 - ST 162
4c Dull Purple&
Ultramarine
Ordinary Paper
Initial 2c Image - Bottom of flag not attached to mast. Redrawn 2c Image - Bottom of flag now attached to mast.
   
CW E11 - SG 242a - ST 162
4c Dull Purple&
Ultramarine
Chalk Paper
CW E12 - SG 254 - ST 174
4c Brown &
Purple
Ordinary Paper
CW E13 - SG 243 - ST 163
5c Dull Purple &
Blue
Blue Ordinary Paper
CW E13 - SG 243a - ST 163
5c Dull Purple &
Blue
Blue Chalk Paper
       
CW E14 - SG 255- ST 175
5c Ultramarine
Ordinary Paper
CW E15 - SG 244 - ST 164
6c Grey-Black &
Ultramarine
Ordinary Paper
CW E15 - SG 244b - ST 164
6c Grey-Black &
Ultramarine
Chalk Paper
CW E16 - SG 256 - ST 176
6c Grey &
Black
Ordinary Paper
       
CW E17 - SG 245 - ST 165
12c Dull Purple &
Bright Purple
Ordinary Paper
CW E17 - SG 245a - ST 165
12c Dull Purple &
Bright Purple
Chalk Paper
CW E18 - SG 257 - ST 177
12c Orange &
Mauve
Ordinary Paper
CW E19 - SG 246 - ST 166
24c Dull Purple &
Green
Ordinary Paper
       
CW E19 - SG 246a - ST 166
24c Dull Purple &
Green
Chalk Paper
CW E20 - SG 247 - ST 167
48c Grey &
Purple-Brown
Ordinary Paper
CW E20 - SG 247a - ST 167
48c Grey &
Purple-Brown
Chalk Paper
CW E21 - SG 248 - ST 168
60c Green &
Rosine
Ordinary Paper
       
CW E21 - SG 248a - ST 168
60c Green &
Rosine
Chalk Paper
CW E22 - SG 249 - ST 169
72c Purple &
Orange-Brown
Chalk Paper
CW E23 - SG 250 - ST 170
96c Black &
Vermilion
Yellow Chalk Paper
CW E24 - SG 251 - ST 171
$2.40 Green &
Violet
Chalk Paper
       

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