British Solomon Island Postage Due Cover

Genuine commercial usage of postage dues is hard to find. This cover also has a previously unrecorded instructional marking 'RETURNED TO SENDER / RECIPRIENT (sic) REFUSED TO / PAY ADDITIONAL TAX'.

Nice! I've never seen this before. Guess it sorts out who your friends are and how much they want to pay for the privilege :-)

Can we see the back of the cover?

A very interest cover. As Jenny says, it would be vering interesting to see the reverse. There must be a return address, since the front is marked for return.

Munda is a large village on the island of New Georgia. So does the "No stamps on island" inscription refer to New Georgia, or was the letter posted on a nearby smaller island and datestamped (23 May 1960?) on arrival at Munda? The postage due stamp appears to be cancelled at Honiara.

It does appear to be commercial.

There is nothing on the back of the cover. I don't see how it can be confirm whether the note of 'no stamps on island' relates to an island near to Munda or to New Georgia itself.

What would be interesting is a cover of similar date and markings.

This is the text from the page in my collection:

23 May, 1960 Munda, New Georgia to Honiara, Guadalcanal. Unstamped and noted in red "NO STAMPS ON ISLAND" it is addressed to 'Francis Mamupio / Secretariat Registry / W. P. H. C. (Western Pacific High Commission) / Honiara / Guadalcanal. Payment was refused by the addressee and so the letter was returned to sender.

A hexagonal boxed 'T' marking (not recorded in Leahy) is paired with a handstamped "RETURNED TO SENDER / RECIPRIENT (sic) REFUSED TO / PAY ADDITIONAL TAX". The postal rate between the islands was 3d, the 6d deficiency being a double deficiency of this amount. The 'RETURNED TO SENDER..." cachet is of a type not previously seen as at August, 2016.

Covers showing genuine postal usage of postage due stamps originating in the British Solomon Islands are scarce.


John