Identifying the Dominica King George V 1923 issues is primarily a matter of determining the watermark for the 3/ and 5/ issues, and then sorting the color for a number of them. If that is not enough of a challenge, you can also look for the watermark varieties of which there are many.

The design used replaced the one that was in use from from 1903. It was used from 1923 until it was replaced by the new King George VI designs in 1938. You will find it printed on paper with two different watermarks: Multiple Crown CA, and Multiple Script CA.

You probably need a few copies of the stamps to accurately sort the colors. I typically compare them against both white and black paper. Look for differences that are not too subtle. There was always variation during this time period, but typically the color changes result from mixing new ink for a second or later printing. They did not have computer color analysis during this time period, so things are just not exact.

If you have trouble determining the watermarks on these stamps, try looking at them face down against black paper. All of the stamps were watermarked sideways. When viewed from the back, the CA will be at either the right or the left side of the paper compared to the crown. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue indicates that most of the issues were printed with the watermark showing the Crown to the left of CA. The image below shows the way the watermark should appear when viewed with the stamp placed face down. Anything different would be considered a watermark variety.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets in the early 1900's were issued very conservatively. I do not have the print quantities for these issues. Please feel free to add this information if you have it.

The catalog numbers are from the 1980 Commonwealth Five Reigns Catalogue (CW), 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). Some of the catalogues show these issues in different order than you will see them here. 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.