Definitives From Around The World

All these fish and bugs are great, but how about some more single-color classics?

Here is Queen Victoria from Nova Scotia circa 1860:



And from Gibraltar, circa 1898:



A couple Alphonso XIII examples, from the 1920 Spanish Guinea set:



and from the 1914 Rio de Oro set:



We now return to your regularly-scheduled programming...

Don't forget on the US Definitive series shown previously, the 5c Flag was issued in sheet form only; the 1c Jackson in both sheet and coil formats; and the 5c Washington stamps were issued in sheet, coil and booklet formats.

Further, the 5c Washington in booklet format had three different types of slogan labels included next to the first stamp.

When you start adding in all of these varieties, you have quite a number of different formats one can collect for three face-different stamps.

Yes Cjd, no such thing as a gaudy coloured classic, is there?


This West German (Federal Republic of Germany) definitive set showing
Prominent Germans was issued in 1961.
The lower values up to 25pf were printed via typography and
the rest recess engraving.

They are all the same size but the scans vary in size because of the different numbers scanned.

Grenada 10/- Seal of the Colony

1939 2c slate green

1938-42 French 17 stamp "Mercury" issue

Danish West Indies
1915 20b green & blue

Eight stamp issue "Christian X"

Cape of Good Hope, 4d Triangle

Monaco, Prince Charles lll, 1885

wooow! just went through all 6 pages of this thread!!
...was intrigued when I read the title. I'm a newbee to this and learning all the time. I didn't know what definitives were.
Started reading...1st page okay...think I know, 2nd page...3rd...4th..Uhh...mmmm maybe not...the fish totally threw me!!
if definitives are basically stamps reissued in color variations but carry most of the original design through the series how would those fish, bug and butterfly series count as a definitive series. The designs were totally different, no?
pardon, if I'm just missing the obvious...I'll be scanning something that I think may be a definative...just no one laugh!

A definitive issue is what is called a "Regular " issue available for sale for a specific period of time from the Postal Service. There are also Commemorative issues that honor an event or period in time. There are also Provisionals, Air Mails and Revenues and a host of others.

Some of the info from 'Definitve Stamp' From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitive_stamp

Hi lorrlis,

Yes it can be confusing.

Your quote....

.... is true of only some definitives but in itself does not define a definitive.

Lets compare commemoratives vs definitives

Commemoratives may acknowledge an anniversary( Centenary, Bicentennial etc) of lets say a battle or significant event.

Definitives do not

Commemoratives may honour a person on for instance his/hers birth or death centenary.

Definitives do not.

Commemoratives usually have the reason/subject for their issuance written somewhere in the design

Definitives usually have just the denomination and name of country.

Commemoratives are issued for a limited time and in limited quantities

Definitives are available for many years and are printed continuously as needed.

The fish, bug and butterfly series you mentioned do not commemorate anything and therefore are just plain definitives even though they are very pretty and colourful like many commemoratives.

Then of course you have stamps issued for Christmas, Hanukkah,
Kwanzaa etc etc which are called special(occasion) stamps but are not definitives.

Wadmalatz, I also have most of those Hungarian castles and
they have definitive written all over them.

Lets face it most definitives feature a King,Queen, famous people, buildings, landscapes, a numeral, fish, mammal, insect etc etc etc.


Anyway here is another incomplete Hungarian definitive
featuring Hungarian towns.



Notice the colour variations on the ones below.

Wert where are you?

Hi stallzer


Wouldn't you say there are regular/definitive Air Mails but also commemorative Air Mails ?

Here is Queen Wilhelmina from 1928, with syncopated perfs on all four sides.



A couple Queen Elizabeth definitives with portraits that haven't been included here yet:
St. Lucia

and Grenada:


Another Sarawak, Brooke again, but this one is from 1918:


Two more Gibraltar definitives. The first is a design that started in 1903 with Edward, and was continued with George V, as here (1912):

and a scene of the Rock of Gibraltar, engraved by De La Rue, from 1931:


King Zog, Albania, 1930, part of a nice little set that includes several of these portraits, and a couple different scenes: