Postal systems around the world grew up based on the simple premise adopted in Britain’s penny post in 1840; make postage affordable and more people will use it. Alongside the growth in postage volumes, the years from 1840 onwards also saw a huge rise in literacy amongst the population. This in turn, in what was something of a virtuous circle, meant that more people sent more mail as the Victorian age progressed. With the introduction of postal administrations into other parts of the Commonwealth, there was a need to ensure a simple set of rates was in place and as such, the Empire Rate was th ..read more

I’ve collected the First Day Covers (FDCs) of Barbados for over a decade now and, as you might expect, I have pretty much all of them. All that is, bar a handful that are proving ridiculously hard to find. It’s not that they are overpriced when I see them; most of the ones I’m looking for are just a couple of pounds; it’s more that I simply never see them being offered for sale. It is entirely possible, of course, that I’m just looking in the wrong places. But after ten years you’d think that they would have popped up at some point? The irony is that the most difficult ones to find are those f ..read more

Modern postal history is an often overlooked area of philately, especially when it comes to very recent material such as Registered Envelopes. In the UK, few people attempt to collect the very latest commemorative issues on cover for several reasons, not least of which is finding them commercially used is a massive challenge. The only real way to achieve this now is to create ‘philatelic items’, i.e., covers specifically created to go into a collection rather than being the product of a normal postal service. In Barbados philately it’s much the same, with very few current covers arriving on th ..read more

It’s been a long time coming, since 2019 to be precise, but finally, the opportunity has arisen once again, to visit Barbados. There have been lots of changes since I was last there, not least of which the changes brought about by the pandemic. But on top of that, Barbados has become a republic, they have issued new banknotes (yes, I’ve got my travel money ready!) and Prime Minister Mia Motley is asking Britain to give Barbados two trillion pounds. We’ll see how that one goes. Politics and global issues aside, the best part for me will be meeting some of our friends on the island, people we ha ..read more

Like most collectors, I’m always on the lookout for the best quality items to add to the collection. Often, that quality item may not come around for several years so it’s a constant challenge looking to improve on what you already have. One of my fellow collectors has spent a lifetime looking for better items and right now, won’t add anything to his collection unless it is the very best quality available. Needless to say, his GB collection is exceptional. All of us are told that quality matters and that we will get more for it if, and when, we come to sell our collections, but how important i ..read more

An opportunity has arisen for collectors to own some of the rarer items of Barbadian philately, in the upcoming David Feldman Great Britain and British Empire sale in June 2023. The sale, scheduled for 26th June, has no fewer than 41 items, including rare early Barbados covers, blocks and marginal strips of stamps, bisects, die proofs and surcharges. If you collect Barbados, this sale is one to watch out for. Amongst the early covers are some with exceptional provenance and some that are real rarities including the earliest known cover to the Danish West Indies, and a bisected stamp on cover t ..read more

As I reported at the end of May, a new issue of Barbados stamps is now available on the subject of the 50th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Barbados. In a huge improvement from the end of 2022, when you might recall the Pottery new issue set took over two months to reach me in the UK, this new set was with me within the week, with no delays at customs or sitting in a Royal Mail shed at Heathrow. Posted on 22nd May, which was the first day of issue for this set, the stamps arrived within the week and have been sitting on my desk, waiting for this review. The set contains four values, as is t ..read more

Just a quick post to advise that on May 22nd, 2023, a new set of Barbados Stamps was issued entitled “50th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Barbados”. According to local sources, there was also a presentation at the Central Bank. According to the Central Bank’s website, “The set of four stamps features the Bank’s different facilities: the main building of the Tom Adams Financial Centre, the Frank Collymore Hall, the Exchange Interactive Centre, which is the Bank’s museum, and Church Village Green, its public recreation area.” As soon as the new issue lands here in the UK I’ll do my usua ..read more

I’ve always had a soft spot for underpaid mail, with a particular attraction to Postage Due stamps. It always seems strange that there was sufficient misuse of stamps to warrant a completely different set of stamps, just to make up for not using them properly in the first place. Like many collectors, I have full mint sets of postage due stamps, both for Barbados and also for other countries like GB and St Lucia amongst others. Finding these stamps used, still on the cover, however, is more of a challenge. When you do find them intact, the fun is the puzzle of how they came to be used. After al ..read more

When you first start collecting stamps, there are certain ones that strike you as being more ‘valuable’ than others. For me, it was the Australian Commonwealth Coat of Arms series of 1948-1956, which were all high values, ranging from 5/- up to £2. As a kid I happily acquired the 5/- and when I finally acquired a 10/- I was ecstatic and could only dream about one day owning the £1 and £2 values. Australian Arms High Values 1949-50 Today, a used set of these can be found on eBay for not much more than the price of a couple of pints, and a mint set for not a great deal more. As a kid, I was just ..read more