Bermuda Half Penny Blue Research

Hi, I've inherited and am getting into stamp collecting and i'm really enjoying it. I've come across a stamp though that I cannot find any information about at all and I was hoping someone out there may be able to help. It's a Bermuda blue half penny stamp with a I believe Queen Victoria on it. I believe from 1865 - 73.



Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou for your help
James

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

These are cut from the corners of postal stationery (i.e.envelopes or postcards preprinted with stamps).

Yes it is Queen Victoria.

For new readers and collectors ----- These are called cut squares , 150 years ago album makers included them in their printing of albums . It was popular to collect them .

Now you find them in bulk lots and mixtures, I see them mounted in collections at stamp auctions , now there are few people who collect them .

Thankyou so much replying, thing is I cannot seem to tie this stamp down, i've looked the stamp up but different ones come up with a different design they have floral designs in the corners instead of the ones in the photo and I cannot find anywhere a half penny blue. Could it be the wrong colour or is it that they were produced in low numbers?

Thanks again for your help

James

JEDI---- Maybe your looking in the wrong place ----- try Bermuda Postal History or Bermuda covers .

Here's an example from ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294033989709

What you have are not considered stamps by everyone. They are impressions cut from postal stationary that look like stamps.

In the early 20th century, stamp collectors not only collected adhesive labels, but also impressions from postal stationary that looked like stamps. Collecting such cut outs has gone out of fashion.

Many stamp catalogues do not list these. Remember most people on here are American and use the Scott catalogue. In the UK, Stanley Gibbons catalogues are much more popular. Stanley Gibbons has no Bermuda postal history or covers section in its catalogues. Many online catalogues won't list these either. You will need to consult literature on Empire, Commonwealth or Bermuda postal history. Even then, you might only see these as part of a postcard or envelope with the pre-printed stamp.

Here is the ebay listing that GeoffHa hyperlinked.

The postmarks are Hamilton and St Georges, both opened in 1818, and are the two oldest Post Offices on the island.

To keep things simple: what you have is not a stamp. You have a cutout from a prepaid postcard or envelope, produced as a convenience for Bermuda-based people to send mail without having to actually buy a stamp and stick it to their mail. You won't find it in a traditional stamp catalog, you need a catalog of Postal Stationary. At one time or another, most every country has printed such things in one form or another. Imagine going to your local post office and instead of buying actual Forever Stamps that you peeled off the backing and stuck to an envelope, you instead just bought a stack of envelopes, each with the design of a Forever Stamp already printed in the upper right corner.
PS: while I understand that there are forum members who my parse my statements, let's keep things easy and clear for new members.