GOLD COAST 1875-1901

Côte-d'Or - Goldküste

Return To Catalogue - Goldcoast 1902-1920 and miscellaneous

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The colony of Gold Coast was established in 1874 by the British. In 1957 Gold Coast was renamed Ghana.

1875 Queen Victoria, inscription "POSTAGE"

  1/2 p yellow
  1/2 p green
  1 p blue
  1 p red
  2 p green
  2 p grey
  2 1/2 p blue and orange
  3 p olive
  4 p lilac
  6 p orange
  1 Sh lilac
  2 Sh brown

Surcharged

  'ONE PENNY' on 6 p orange

For the specialist, all these stamps are perforated 14, except for the values 1/2 p yellow, 1 p blue, 2 p green, 4 p lilac and 6 p orange; these values also exist perforated 12 1/2. The stamps have watermark 'CC crown' or watermark 'CA crown'. I've seen a bisected 2 p green stamp together with a 2 p green stamp pasted on a piece of an envelope with '556' numeral cancel.

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

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

I've seen several of these stamps with a slanting manuscript alike 'Specimen' cancel.

Typical cancellations:

(Mute cancel, numeral '554' cancel and '556' cancel )

'Elmina' townname and date cancels in black and red. I've also seen this Elmina cancel in the colour blue.

Numeral cancels and the corresponding towns:
554 : Accra
556 : Cape Coast Castle

B27 cancel for Mail Boat usage

Postal Stationery

I have seen a postcard with a 1/2 p green design similar to the stamps above.

Forgeries

Very primitive forgery

The above forgery type has a line from the nose to the forehead. In the genuine stamp, there is no such line. There is probably no watermark in this stamp.

The next forgeries are Spiro forgeries. Spiro forgeries are the most common forgeries of this issue. They can easily be recognised by their strange cancels (as on the following sheet), there is no watermark and the perforation is 13 (instead of 14 or 12 1/2). The 'G' of 'GOLD' of the Spiro forgeries is normal, in the genuine stamps this 'G' has a triangular tail:

Album Weeds only describes the Spiro forgeries. I have only seen the values 1 p blue, 4 p lilac and 6 p orange of these forgeries.

Other primitive forgeries:

Forgery of the 1/2 p pasted on a piece of a letter with forged cancel 'B27' (reduced size). The size of 'HALFPENNY' is much too small. Next to it a forgery of the 2 Sh value, probably made by the same forger.

The forger Sperati made forgeries of the 1/2 p and 1 p values. Sorry, no images available.

Forgery of the overprinted stamp:

A forged overprint 'ONE PENNY' taken from a Fournier Album, reduced size

1885 Queen Victoria inscription "POSTAGE & REVENUE"

  1/2 p lilac and green
  1 p lilac and red
  2 p lilac and red (1902)
  2 1/2 p lilac and blue
  3 p lilac and yellow
  6 p lilac and blue
  1 Sh green and black
  2 Sh green and red
  5 Sh green and violet
  5 Sh lilac and blue
  10 Sh lilac and red
  10 Sh green and brown
  20 Sh green and red
  20 Sh violet and black on red

Due to a theft the 20 Sh green and red was replaced by the 20 Sh violet and black on red in 1894. Stamps are known with removed fiscal cancels and newly applied gum pretending to be imperforate stamps.

Surcharged

  'ONE PENNY' on 2 1/2 p lilac and blue
  'ONE PENNY' on 6 p lilac and blue

For the specialist, all the above stamps have watermark 'CA crown' and perforation 14.

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

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

The forger Sperati made forgeries of the 20 Sh value (two reproductions 'A' and 'B'). He also forged the numeral cancels '556' (one single and a double impression), '554' and 'TAR... JA 27 GOLD ....'.

Sperati reproduction A; left uncancelled and right cancelled. There are some white spots in the word 'GOLD COAST' and there is some red ink missing in the lower part of the value tablet below the right hand side of the '0' of '20'.

Sperati Reproduction 'B', blackprint of a 'proof'.

Fiscal stamps with overprint "JUDICIAL":

The following values exist: 1 p grey and red, 3p grey and orange, 6 p grey and green, 1 Sh lilac and green on yellow, 2 Sh lilac and red on yellow, 2 Sh 6 p lilac and violet on yellow, 5 Sh lilac and black on yellow, 10 Sh lilac and violet on yellow, 20 Sh lilac and black on red and 5 Pounds lilac and black on red. The cancels are ususally 'COURT ACCRA SUPREME COURT CANCELLED' or similar.

For stamps issued in Goldcoast from 1902 to 1920 and miscellaneous, click here.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer