Identifying King George VI Stamps
Leeward Islands 2/ Issues
Internet browser colors are not a totally reliable comparison.
Use these scans to see the relative difference between the printings.

1938 Printing
CW 10, SG 111
Deep Purple
& Deep Blue
Die I - Chalk Paper
45,960 Printed

1942 Printing
CW 10A, SG 111A
Reddish-Purple
& Deep Blue
Die III
12,000 Printed
   

1943 Printing
CW 10A, SG 111A
Reddish-Purple
& Bright Blue
Die II
30,080 Printed

1944 Printing
CW 10B, SG 111AB
Deep Purple
& Bright Blue
Die II
68,400 Printed

1947 Printing
CW 10B, SG 111AB
Colder Purple
& Bright Blue
Die III
30,600 Printed
     

1948 Printing
CW 10B, SG 111AB
Deep Bluish-Purple
& Blue
Die III
68,160 Printed

1951 Printing
CW 10B, SG 111AB
Deep Bluish-Purple
& Deep Blue
Die III
57,480 Printed
The KGVI Leeward Islands 2/ issues can be challenging to identify. This is due to the fact that most of the printings are fairly similar.

My reference for the colors of these stamps is "The Printings of King George VI Colonial Stamps" by W.J.W. Potter & Lt. Col. R.C.M. Shelton which was published by Stamp Collecting, Ltd. in 1952. The printing dates and quantities printed are from Study Paper No. 10 published by the King George VI Collectors Society in 1977, and authored by F.R. Saunders and M.R. Boyle. As you can see, there were seven 2/ issues printed during the years of production with a total printing of 312,680 stamps. For the record, the stamps were printed in sheets of 120 which comprised 2 panes of 6 x 10 with a center strip that divided the two frames.

If you are trying to sort the stamps of the Leeward Islands keyplates, you will need to understand how to identify the various Head Plate Die states. There are three Dies of the Head Plate. If you are not familiar with the Leeward Islands Small Keyplate Die Plates feel free to visit the site for more information.

Once you have sorted the stamps by Die, it is fairly easy to sort them by printing. A listing with sorting tips is shown below for each Die option.

Die I - 1 Printing

1938 Printing

There is only one stamp, so this is fairly simple. You should also note the chalky paper which has a greyish appearance. The gum is usually yellowish in color. This is the only 2/ issue printed on chalky paper.

Die II - 2 Printings

1943 Printing

1944 Printing

There are two Die II alternatives. The 1943 printing seems to be more common. It will tend to be more reddish and lighter in color than the more deeply colored 1944 printing. You should also notice the horizontal striping found on the 1943 printing.

Based on the 1947 issue date shown in the catalogs, the 1944 printing is not really part of CW 10B and SG 111AB; but if you just compare the appearance of this stamp you will notice that it looks like the later printings more than the earlier ones.

Die III - 4 Printings

1942 Printing

The 1942 Die III printing is very elusive. It has a much more washed out look than the scan shown here. You should also notice the reddish color compared to the three darker versions.

1947 Printing

1948 Printing

1951 Printing

The three later printings can be sorted by noticing that the blue of the duty color is the same for the 1947 and 1948 printings, while the 1951 printing has a deeper blue duty color. The head plate color of the 1948 and 1951 printings will tend to match while the 1947 printing has a deeper head plate color.

I hope this helps you sort your stamps. We have these issues for sale sorted by printing. Use the link below to request current prices.

Please do not treat the scans as totally accurate in terms of color. Internet Browsers do not clearly show the entire range of colors in the spectrum. The centers of all the stamps appear a little washed out due to the effects of my scanner.

This article is intended to help collectors identify their KGVI Stamps. Please feel free to write with additional information. It will be added to revised versions of this article.

Comments or Questions feel free to write

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