Identifying the British Guiana King George V issues watermarked Multiple Crown CA is primarily a matter of determining the watermark and then sorting the color and paper shades. The design of King George V and the Badge of the Colony was used from 1913 thru 1934 with two different watermarks: Multiple Crown CA and Multiple Script CA. This article deals only with the issues watermarked Multiple Crown CA, which was printed beginning in 1913 until they were replaced by the stamps 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 has a smaller crown and the letters are block letters rather than script. See the images of the two watermarks below for reference.

Sorting colors is a matter of comparing server al copies (if you can find them). This will help you see the differences. I find it is easier to sort the colored papers by looking at the back of the stamp. The 96c values are the only ones printed on colored paper. I scanned the backs of the stamps so you can see the difference. The papers noted as bluish are typically not really blue, but more likely just off-white or maybe greyish.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued more conservatively. In an article appearing in the London Philatelist - "British Guiana: The Printings of the King George V Stamps - Part I: The 1913 - 1921 Issues" by Richard Maisel and Peter Ford, it was noted that there were 146,280 total of the 96c stamps for the 4 paper colors, and 71,520 of the 60c stamps printed. Please consult the article for more details on the remaining stamps printed as well as other useful information about this issue. Thanks to Anthony Cole for providing the update.

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.

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.