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All About . . . The Caribbean’s rarest stamps Courtesy Empire Philatelists
Handwritten letters from penpals in lands far away may have been a simple childhood pleasure, depending on your age. Curiosity about the postal service and even a fascination with postage stamps might have ensued, too. Stamp collecting is a fun and family-friendly activity with opportunities to learn history, explore the world, and maybe even earn income. Tremendously serious philatelists generally focus on a particular country or era. Which stamps do Caribbean philatelists consider the biggest treasures? As we mark World Post Day on 9 October, here’s a glimpse at three rare and coveted examples.
Trinidad’s Lady McLeod (1847)
Courtesy Empire Philatelists
According to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, the Lady McLeod is the first adhesive postage stamp relating to “post by sea” — although privately issued. Comparatively, the Philatelic Society of Trinidad and Tobago claims it as the first stamp to be issued by a British colony. This renowned stamp was introduced to pre-pay for mail carried by the Lady McLeod steamer — named for the wife of Governor Sir Henry McLeod — which plied between the towns of Port of Spain and San Fernando, carrying people and cargo. A $1 monthly subscription fee payable quarterly and in advance was charged for letters, money, and small parcels, while non-subscribers were charged ten cents per letter. Today, eightyfive of these elegantly designed stamps are known to survive. One was sold last year for £7,000. Genuinely unused or mint copies are of the utmost rarity.
Jamaica one-shilling inverted-frame error (1919-1921)
A printer’s error created Jamaica’s rarest stamp, in which part of the design was rendered upside-down. It’s assumed that a sheet of sixty stamps was printed, with half of the sheet being delivered to a post office in Manchioneal, a small village in Portland parish, and the other half possibly sold in Kingston. Fewer than twenty were unused and only five exist in used condition. Mint examples sell for over £30,000.
British Guiana’s one-cent “Black on Magenta” (1856)
The stamp most notorious for creating a media buzz each time it’s sold or displayed is the exceedingly rare “Black on Magenta” from British Guiana, of which a single example is known to survive. Considered the most valuable stamp in the world, it was sold to upscale shoe designer Stuart Weitzman in 2014 for approximately US$9.5 million. In early 1856, Georgetown postmaster E.T.E. Dalton urgently needed stamps, so he requested the printing of an emergency issue:
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