On August 13th, 1869, a consignment of stamps of two values—Four Pence and One Shilling—was sent out to the Colony by the printers, the colour of the Four Pence being altered from blue to yellow, and that of the One Shilling from indigo to brown. The consignment consisted of 300 sheets—9000 stamps—of each value.

The One Shilling was the first of these to be chronicled in the philatelic periodicals. It was noticed in Le Timbrophile of September 30th, 1869, and in the Philatelist and the Timbre-Poste of November, but the Stamp Collector’s Magazine did not announce its appearance until the December number of that year. It is therefore certain that the issue of the One Shilling, brown, took place in September, and most probably the Four Pence, yellow, was issued at the same time, although the latter was not chronicled until November 30th, when it was noticed by Le Timbrophile, the other three above-mentioned periodicals not chronicling it until January, 1870.

The Philatelist, speaking of the change of colour, says of the new Four Pence, yellow: “It is now in full service, and proves to be of a very deep rich yellow. The emissions of this Island, for some time two only, now amount to a respectable figure, there being the slate, indigo, and brown Shilling; a dark and light green Sixpenny; the blue and the new yellow Fourpenny; and the Penny in slightly varying shades of red. In addition are varieties of perforation, one being pin-pricked, one fully perforated, and some anomalously presenting both methods in the same stamp. Such emissions as these must shut up all Pendragonites, and puzzle the patronizers of Lallier’s and other exclusive albums.” Here is additional evidence, were such required, of the attention paid in those days by certain writers and collectors to those minutiæ of stamp collecting, which in the aggregate make up what is now understood by the term “Philately.”

Like all the preceding issues these two stamps are on unwatermarked paper, varying from thick to thin, and are perforated B, with gum from yellowish to almost white. The colours of each are nearly uniform, slight shades only being found, the darker shades of the brown Shilling being generally due to oxidation. Only this one printing was ever made in these colours, and as this was limited to 9,000 stamps of each value, it need not be a matter of surprise that they are both fairly rare in the unused state.

The One Shilling is described in Stanley Gibbons’ Monthly Journal for December, 1891, as found perforated 11 by 15½. We have examined the particular specimen by the kindness of the owner, and the stamp turns out to be an unmistakable oxidized copy of the vermilion-red Shilling of Issue 11.

This was the last issue of stamps for St. Vincent to be printed on the unwatermarked paper.

Issue 7.

June 1871.