Ceylon - King George VI stamps | The Stamp Forum (TSF) (2024)

The Ceylon King George VI set was issued from 1938 until 1952.

The set features a number of interesting designs and colors. It combines a number of perforation varieties, watermark variations, paper changes, overprints to resolve shortages, a revenue stamp that was validated for postal use for a brief period of time, and color shades which occurred over a number of printings.

It is also one of the few King George VI sets that was assigned to multiple printers for the initial design and who changed due to war time production problems.

I recently posted a web page that will help you make sense of this set. It includes images of all the cataloged stamps as well as tips on how to identify and sort your stamps.

Please use the link below for more information on this set.

Thanks for posting. Had no idea there were so many varieties. I will have fun sorting through my meagre holdings of Ceylon stamps. I just wonder which box they are hiding in.

David

Love your "educational" material kgvistamps - you are my shining specialist in the field - Happy New Year and
René

Admin - I would appreciate it if you left this thread where it is. Ceylon is a vast topic, and this will just get lost in the group. Thanks

David, as you sort your KGVI Ceylon stamps, start with identifying the perforations. This set has more variations than any other KGVI set. Use a Stanley Gibbons Instanta gauge rather than the ones with the dots. It will give you a more precise measure. If you don't have a good gauge, you can also just measure a 2cm area and count the perfs.

If you are checking used stamps, see if there are dates that can help you identify your stamps. I put the relative printing dates for each catalog number listing in my article. Finding used stamps with dates in that range won't confirm that it was that specific printing, but it will help you eliminate any printing that came later than the date the stamp was used.

Here is another aspect of this set to consider if you are studying the 5R issues. Some were printed on chalk paper and some were printed on substitute paper (no coating).

Chalk paper was used to provide a better impression and to help against cleaning cancellations from higher value stamps for reuse. It is actually a coating that is applied to the paper prior to printing. There are several tests for chalk paper. One option is to use a silver coin which will draw a pencil-like line when rubbed gently against chalk paper. I do this in the white border. If you don't want to make a line, try looking 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. Chalk paper was used from 1938 until 1941 for the Ceylon 5R issues. Substitute paper was used from 1943 to 1948 due to wartime shortages. Production with chalk paper resumed in 1950 for the 5R issues.

See the examples below to understand the differences. The chalk paper issue is on the left - it is from a 1950's printing, and the substitute paper issue is on the right from a 1943 printing. Notice how much better the impression is on the chalk paper version compared to the spotty printing seen on the substitute paper issue.

KGVISTAMPS,

Thanks for the additional information. I think I will be much better prepared to organize my holdings. I think I found the box where they might be hiding.

David

The 10c, 15c, 25c, 30c and 1R values come both with Sideways and Upright watermark. This was not an accident, it was consistently done at one point during the production of these stamps.

You can usually see the watermark by looking at the back of the stamp against black paper under a strong light. Here is what you should expect to see as you look at the back of the stamp.
The sideways watermark which is found on stamps printed from 1938 until about 1944 is shown to the left. The upright watermark which is found on the issues printed from 1945 until 1952 is to the right below.

In addition to a web page outlining the various catalog listed stamps, I have now also posted scans of my collection on my website.

I have attempted to collect Ceylon based on the printing listings of Potter & Shelton as published in 1952. It might help explain why some cataloged shades look different from each other.

See this link for the 13 page scans.