Barbados Watermark Not Listed In Scott

Hi

Looking in Scott Catalog there are only two watermarks listed for this particular stamp. A large star and a small star. This stamp has a crown watermark that doesn't match exactly the crown watermarks listed under Great Britain.




Image below more accurately reflects the color of this stamp



Retroreveal image is more revealing



The horizontal lines in the crown do not match what is found in Scott. I have read other threads regarding forgeries of this issue. The crooks didn't forge watermarks also, did they?

Hi gettinold,

This is Scott #51b, Wmk 1.

Yes, forgers produced watermarks on certain issues but I don't know if they did watermark forgeries of Barbados stamps.

Hope this helps

Bobby De La Rue

Thank you. I see it now. Scott doesn't have an image of that particular watermark in Great Britain or Barbados so I became a bit suspicious of the stamp. If you recognize the watermark I'll consider it genuine.

The watermark illustrations should be at the front of the catalogue. Crown over CC and Crown over CA were used at a lot of different colonies.

The line across the top of your stamp makes me think it's from the edge of the sheet.

In older catalogs (mine dates from 1994) these watermarks are found at the back of volume 1 (US, UN, GB & British Colonies). There are eight of them and they are referred to as "British Colonial and Crown Agent Watermarks ".

Thanks Willwood42, I didn't know that. I only have the 2014 Specialised catalogue and the 2007 digital edition. Both have the watermarks at the front. I wonder when it changed? Gibbons have had the watermarks at the front of the catalogue since at least 1930.

Seems to be an outbreak of marginal watermark stamps lately. Yes, the line present shows it's from the top margin of a pane. Stuff happens, particularly with the earlier Victorian era stamps such as this.

See this for an image of the watermark layout of a full uncut sheet (4 panes):
https://goscf.com/t/63049

I'm using a 2013 Scott 1840-1940. On page 38a there are half a dozen watermarks including #1 showing CC beneath the crown. Didn't see that on the stamp. This left me guessing whether the watermark I was seeing on the stamp was indeed #1 or one not listed in the catalog I'm using. I see now that I'm looking at a partial watermark.