BAHAMAS 1859-1900

Return To Catalogue - Bahamas 1901-1920

Currency: 4 farthings = 1 penny; 12 pence = 1 Shilling; 20 Shillings = 1 Pound

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.

Before the introduction of its own stamps in 1859 the stamps of Great Britain were used. They can be recognized by the cancel 'A05' of the Bahamas (I have never seen such a stamp myself).

1859 Queen Victoria, inscription 'BAHAMAS INTERINSULAR POSTAGE'

imperforated or perforated (1860)
  1 p red

For the specialist: this issue and the next are also commonly known as 'the Chalon head issues' (after the designer Chalon). The first stamp was issued imperforate and without watermark in 1859. Leftovers on thin paper exist (the normal stamps are on thicker paper), these leftovers exist with forged cancels! Afterwards various stamps with different perforation and watermark (first 'CC Crown' in 1863 and followed by 'CA Crown' in 1875) were issued from 1860 to 1882.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Typical cancel 'A05':

Stamps cancelled with a pencancel are usually fiscally used (see remark at the end of this page). These cancels have sometimes been removed and a forged postal cancel has been applied to the stamp.
I have seen a similar bar cancel with a 'B' instead of 'A05'

Forgeries, example:

(Spiro forgery)

In this Spiro forgery, there is a white line above 'ONE PENNY'. This forgery is the most common. Note the typical 'Spiro' cancel.

A Panelli forgery also exists of this stamp with the 'O' of 'ONE' too large. The 'S' of 'INTERINSULAR' touches the outline above it. Sorry, no image available yet

According to the British West Indies Study Circle, Bulletin No.131 (December 1986, available online), another forgery 1 p orange was recorded with a cancel consisting of four rings. It was possibly made by the forger Julius Goldner.

Another forgery with the lettering and the face of the Queen quite badly done.

1861 Queen Victoria, new type, 'BAHAMAS POSTAGE'

  4 p red
  6 p lilac

Surcharged

  'FOUR PENCE' on 6 p violet (1883)

For the specialist: the first stamps in this design were issued without watermark in 1860. Afterwards various stamps with different perforation and watermark (first 'CC Crown' in 1863 and followed by 'CA Crown' in 1875) were issued from 1860 to 1882.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Cancels:

Example:

('A05' cancel)

Stamps cancelled with a pencancel are usually fiscally used (see remark at the end of this page).

Forgeries:

In the above forgery, the background pattern is quite different from the genuine stamp. The cancel is a typical Spiro (famous forger) cancel, it was never used on the Bahamas Islands. These forgeries are also described in Album Weeds as second forgery. I've seen a whole sheet of 25 forgeries (5 x 5) of the 4 p value, all cancelled with the same Spiro cancel. Spiro forgeries are the most common forgeries of these stamps.

Another primitive forgery:

(Image obtained from http://www.gsu.edu/~libpjr/stamps.html)

Oneglia made forgeries of the 4 p value, the next forgery probably is such an Oneglia forgery:

(Oneglia forgeries, left image obtained from http://www.gsu.edu/~libpjr/stamps.html)

Oneglia forgeries are cancelled with a circle with four concentric rings or a barred oval cancel. There is a red dot above the Queen's left eye (at the right hand side for us). The white ellipse is too large. See also: http://bwisc.org/50_bulletins/b100_197903/b100_197903.pdf. According to this document, the 4 p Oneglia forgery first appeared in 1897.

Last image obtained from http://www.gsu.edu/~libpjr/stamps.html. Possibly a Fournier product cancelled with a pattern of lines with a very thick line in the center. The squares with the stars at the bottom are badly done. The white ellipse is too wide. Other sources say that these forgeries were made by J.H.Behrmann (a stamp forger of the 1860-1870's from Hamburg). Next to it two similar forgeries from Grenada, Natal and Queensland.

Image obtained from http://www.gsu.edu/~libpjr/stamps.html. This is possibly a counterpart of the the engraved forgery of the 4 p mentioned in the British West Indies Study Circle Bulletin No.131 (December 1986, available online).

I've been told that this is another forgery of the 6 p value.

Another forgery of the 4 p with very bad lettering

A forgery in the wrong colour: 6 p green

Some primitive forgeries on hard paper. The 1 p is a bogus issue, since it was never issued in this design.

Forged 'FOUR PENCE' overprint

1863 Queen Victoria facing the left, 'BAHAMAS' in white letters on green background

  1 Sh green

For the specialist; this stamp was first issued in 1863 with watermark 'CC Crown' and perforated 12 1/2. Later other perforations were used and in 1882 the watermark was changed to 'CA Crown'.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Stamps cancelled with a pencancel are usually fiscally used (see remark at the end of this page).

Forgeries, example:

The above forgery can immediatly be identified by its cancel, a typical Spiro cancel! This cancel was never used on the Bahamas. There also seems to be a white dot in the white circle, under the second 'A' of 'BAHAMAS'. I've seen a whole sheet of 25 Spiro forgeries (5 x 5), all cancelled with the same typical cancel.

A (rare) engraved forgery of the 1 Sh value exists. It is mentioned in the British West Indies Study Circle Bulletin No.131 (December 1986, available online). This forgery does not have a ring under the second 'A' of 'BAHAMAS' as in the genuine stamp. The ear of the Queen is much more visible in this forgery. Sorry, no imagea available yet.

1884 Queen Victoria facing the left 'BAHAMAS' in coloured letters

  1 p red
  2 1/2 p blue
  4 p yellow
  6 p violet (1890)
  5 Sh olive
  1 Pound brown

For the specialist; these stamps have watermark 'CA Crown'.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Stamp with fiscal cancel (pencancel, see remark below on fiscally used stamps):

I've been told that the next 'A05' cancel is rare (it is different from the previously shown 'A05' cancels):

Stamp with circular 'RAGGED ISLAND' cancel used in 1894

The forger Sperati made a forgery of the 1 Pound value by erasing the design of a 1 p stamp and printing a new value on it.

Sperati forgery of the 1 Pound value, image obtained from a Sotheby auction.

The Sperati forgery has a pointed inner white upper part of the 'O' of 'POUND'. The 'N' of 'ONE' has several defects on top (as in the genuine stamp on the same plate posistion). Apparently, Sperati also forged the cancels on this stamp. The above cancel 'NASSAU C FE/5 00 NEW PROVIDENCE' is forged. He also forged a 'AO' (part of a 'AO5' cancel); a quite blur 'NASSAU C JA 4 98 ...DENCE' cancel; and a 'NASSAU C JU 27 99 ..W PROVIDENCE' cancel.

Another Sperati forgery, this forgery might have a genuine cancel.

For stamps of the Bahamas in the period of 1901 to 1920 click here.

Fiscally used stamps

General note on cancelled stamps of the Bahamas: most stamps with pencancels are used fiscally and worth considerably less then postally used stamps. Bahamas did not issue any special fiscal stamps.

Websites

http://www.gsu.edu/~libpjr/stamps.html by Peter J. Roberts.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer