British Ionian Islands (1859)

I dug out this beauty, Scott #2, it is 1 of only 3 stamps issued under British rule. Nicely engraved, and a must for those who collect buckles on stamps.



The stamp is non-denominated, but scott says the face is 1p.

Wow, lovely example BeeSee,
now <that> would be a "classic" stamp I should think.

Belt buckles on stamps ?
Here's a belt Belt buckle from 100 or so years before
that stamp from seabed of Western Australia.

SG0996 (1985) T416 $01 nautica buckle

Nice scan and buckle Rod! That must be the largest buckle to ever appear on a stamp.

I think it may be one of the very few on a stamp BeeSee, :)
not a popular topical I should think.
The QV design on your lovely stamp,
has something to do with the "royal garter" ?

wiki:

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England. The Order is dedicated to the image and arms of St. George as England's Patron Saint, and is presently bestowed on recipients from British and other realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom. Membership in the order is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than twenty-four members, or Companions; the order also comprises Supernumerary knights and ladies (e.g., members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs). Bestowing the honour has been described as one of the Monarch's few remaining truly personal, executive prerogatives.[3]

The order's emblem, depicted on insignia, is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Old French: "shame upon him who thinks evil upon it", or "evil to him who evil thinks") in gold lettering. Members of the order wear such a garter on ceremonial occasions.

Bee-

When printed, this stamp was going to be the 2p value, so I believe it has a "2" for a watermark. Does that seem right?

Collin

Collin, the watermark appears to be "2" up against daylight. But Scott says it is 1d, being blue, while the 2d undenominated has the "1" watermark and is lake. That is my 1984 Scott catalog. Is the catalog wrong?

Collin,
I had never seen these before, so had to hunt up
the Stanley Gibbons.

1859 the halfpenny had no wmk
The 1d blue had a "2" wmk
and the 2d carmine had a "1" wmk

Hope this helps.

No, Bee, the catalogue as summarized by Rod is correct...it is just an interesting quirk of how the stamps were originally prepared for use versus how they were actually used.

C.

[edited to clarify who I was responding to...]

OK I see, thanks CD.

There are all kinds of forgeries of this issue. I hesitate to deface Bee's beauty by posting some, but here are forged examples of the other two British Ionian Islands stamps:





The spotting features I use when out and about are:
-The first "I" should start at Vicki's stiff upper lip.
-The letters shouldn't touch at the serifs.
-The background around the head shouldn't be a solid color.

Beyond those, I have to look it up.

C.

Nice posting CD. Are those forgeries engraved? Mine is definitely engraved and Vicky's lips are definitely below the I.

I wonder why these stamps were non-denominated.

Bee-

I'm not qualified to confirm that yours is genuine, but it sure looks like it to me. Nothing I've seen about these talks about a faked watermark, so if for no other reason, I'd expect yours is good.

There's just no comparison between the beautiful engraving on yours and the blobby examples that I posted (which still look "okay" on a page, as long as a real example isn't sharing that page).

C.