The Queen Victoria Cyprus Stamps

Philately can be a lone Hobby. Philately can also be a team hobby.

Whichever is the case for the lone or team conscious philatelist, the undeniable fact is that philatelic knowledge is gained through research and tested for its correctness through collaborative work done by enthusiastic collectors who, during the lapse of 180 years since the Postage Stamp appearance, have gathered, preserved and passed on, a vast material being this either mail or stamps or documents and who were keen enough to study and extract from it, classify, interpret and record the information that we have easily available today. That is not to say that all the work has been done. Fortunately, undiscovered or unarchived material and information is still here - somewhere around us, awaiting the lucky and competent collector to unleash it.

As regards Cyprus stamps, its Postal or Philatelic History and this Site which is born from a Philatelist's enthusiasm on the subject, I would like to make a note:
All knowledge has been gathered through contact with other philatelists, through collecting and discussing the pieces of interest, through reading and keeping an eye on what appears as "philatelic news" anywhere (and internet admittedly has vastly promoted this possibility nowadays).
I should mention here two books which both have been reference guides incorporating our today's collective knowledge which, nevertheless, can still be expanded:
1) The: CYPRUS 1353 to 1986 History, Postal History & Postage Stamps by Wilfrid T. F. Castle and Members of the Cyprus Study Circle, and
2) The Postal History of Cyprus by Edward B. Proud

This page
comprises an informative list of the stamps of Cyprus issued from 1881 to 1896 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

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1 July 1881: 1st Issue of stamps printed exclusively for Cyprus.
Watermarked paper showing the crown and the letters CC. All five values were subsequently reprinted starting from March 1882 on paper with a different watermark.

Numbers 1 to 5
Crown CC Watermark

Nr 2
One Piastre - Rose

Stamp Nr 1
Half Piastre - Emerald Green

Nr 3
Two Piastres - Light Blue

Nr 5
Six Piastres - Greyish Olive Green

Nr 4
Four Piastres - Pale Olive Green

The following stamps were issued from March 1882 up to 1886 on dates according to the needs of the Post Office.

All new printings were done on paper identified by a different watermark. The different watermark of the paper used both for the reprints and the new values and colors for these stamps, identifies them as the second set of stamps issued with the Queen's portrait. Two values i.e the half piastre and the four piastres appear in two different shades of green respectively.

Numbers 6 to 14
Crown CA Watermark

Nr 7
Half Piastre - Dull Green

Nr 6
Half Piastre - Emerald Green

Nr 8
30 Paras - Pale Mauve

Nr 10
Two Piastres - Light Blue

Nr 9
One Piastre - Rose

Nr 11
Four Piastres - Pale Olive Green

Nr 13
Six Piastres - Greyish Olive Green

Nr 12
Four Piastres - Olive Green

Nr 14
12 Piastres - Brownish Orange

Similarly to the half piastre stamp, the four piastres had been initially reprinted in same color as was the previous issue on the Crown CC paper. That was the pale olive green.
Subsequently the later (1883) printing was made in a deeper olive green shade.
It had not been the intention of either the Post Authorities or the printers to issue different sets of stamps as we know them today. In fact they proceeded with new printings [and overprintings as we shall see onwards], according to their needs to serve the public.

The half piastre stamps were issued in two different shades of green i.e. the Emerald Green which was identical to the previous issue on the crown CC paper, and a Dull Green which came later in April 1882.
In fact, the Emerald Green on Crown CA paper which appeared in May 1882 had been a usual reprint of the respective stamp issued earlier on Crown CC paper. When the stocks of the CC paper were exhausted, the printers continued their job of printing utilizing the new paper which was then available to them.

The Detached Triangle Constant Error
Two printing plates were utilized to print these stamps, numbered 1 and 2. Stamps nr. 8 to 13 were printed from both plates, while stamp nr. 14 was printed from plate ONE only. A defect (break) appeared in a certain position in plate nr. 2 and this is visible in that it affects the continuity of the inner frame line in the position where it meets the right edge of the top left triangle; hence this error is known as the "detached top left inner frame triangle".

All Crown CA stamps numbered from 8 to 13 were printed from both One and Two plates, so there is a very small chance that a collector would encounter and notice this error which exists only in one stamp per sheet printed from plate number Two: This is a quite rare encounter indeed!

Above, The detached top left inner frame triangle on stamp number 10.

Left, The detached top left inner frame triangle on stamp number 6.

A focus on the detached top left inner frame triangle on stamp number 10.

The Damaged US Constant Error, shows itself once per sheet of the number 8, thirty paras stamp: The base of the letters US is flattened.

The normal US with both letters having rounded bottoms.

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The number 1/CC and 6/CA emerald green stamps could change color and acquire a bluish shade after contact with water because of the fugitive ink used in their printing. As a result this could lead in fraud or confuse since the two piastres stamp was blue.
As the coloring of the stamps was meant to help users to match a specific color with a price, this hybrid emerald green stamp was not of help at all. The solution to this problem came firstly with the demise of emerald green from the new printings hence the number 7/CA dull green stamp and, secondly, by overprinting the existing stocks of the emerald green CC and CA stamps with the 1/2 1/2 inscription which even on a bluish stamp would easily distinguish itself from the two piastres one.

This previously emerald green stamp cannot be confused with any blue two piastres stamp due to the addition of the 1/2 1/2 inscription on it. This inscription is called "Half on Half".

This used to be an emerald green stamp (either a CC or CA one) before contact with water.

There are three types of the "Half on Half" inscription which was overprinted on the emerald green stamps with either CC or CA watermark. This results to six different stamps - two for each inscription.

Type One
Inscription 1/2 1/2 in small numbers.
Distance between the two fractions about 13 to 13.5mmt.

Nr 15 - Watermarked Crown CC
Nr 16 - Watermarked Crown CA
Both in Emerald Green

Type Three
Inscription 1/2 1/2 in large numbers.
Distance between the two fractions 8mm

Nr 19 - Watermarked Crown CC
Nr 20 - Watermarked Crown CA
Both in Emerald Green

Type Two
Inscription 1/2 1/2 in large numbers.
Distance between the two fractions 6mm

Nr 17 - Watermarked Crown CC
Nr 18 - Watermarked Crown CA
Both in Emerald Green

The Half on Half inscription has produced an extensive array of varieties which range from minor to more noticeable and major ones. Below are shown six different disturbances of these inscriptions which of course are not the norm, hence these stamps are considered as rare to very rare depending also on which watermark they appear and whether they are constant i.e. repeated in a certain position in every sheet of the specific stamp or not. Nevertheless, it is not the scope of this study to deal with values - this being a very subjective matter - although some of these stamps are indeed, established rarities.

This Type One inscription has its left hand fraction applied in double.

Type Two inscription off-centre. In fact in this case the whole image is off-centre, however, this is irrelevant to the overprint.

Type Three inscription with the left hand fraction misprinted: Ink was not applied to the whole extent of the numbers and the dash.

Type Three with the number 2 in the left hand fraction larger than normal.

Same as the previous: Type Three with number 1 of the left hand fraction larger than normal - here on number 20 stamp.

Type Three with number 1 of the left hand fraction larger than normal on number 19 stamp.

The "PARAS" had been the Ottoman money before the British arrived in Cyprus in 1878. This name was carried on to serve as the name for the fractions of the "PIASTRE" this being the new coinage for the island. The One Penny (1d) British stamp initially used in Cyprus was equivalent to 30 paras. This was also the rate designated for soldiers' mail to their homes and hence it was necessary to show this value on the stamp. This additional inscription was overprinted on the One Penny stamp (the J stamp) earlier in 1881 and now starting May 22, 1882 on Nr 2/CC one piastre stamp. The latter was very important because the one piastre was equivalent to 40 paras so inscribing the 30 paras meant that the stamp had a different value from the original printing. However, this was a very short lived stamp as its sale through the post offices lasted from 22.5.1882 to 7th June 1882 when the new 30 paras number 8 stamp became available for use.

At left: Nr 21
30 Paras on One Piastre
Watermark Crown CC
Stamp which was overprinted: Nr 2

Right: The same Nr 21 stamp.
However, the 3 of the 30 paras inscription is missing
probably due to badly
applied ink.

Small variations in the lettering of the inscription appear on the stamps depending on their position in the sheet. This is due to the lithographic method of printing.

All above inscriptions were overprinted at the Government printing office in Nicosia.
Printers of all 1 to 21 stamps had been Messrs Thomas De La Rue & Co Ltd, England.

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Aged 4, in 1823
A painting by Stephen Poyntz Denning

Right: The Queen in her coronation robes.
A painting by George Hayter

Aged 80 in 1899

The eternal young Queen, Queen Victoria, as she always appeared on the Cyprus stamps since 1880, finally passed away at 6:30 p.m. on 22nd January 1901. It was Tuesday and that event marked the end of an era, that of Queen Victoria who had reigned the British Empire from the 20th June 1837 till the dawn of the twentieth century.

The Queen

Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God,
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Queen, defender of the Faith, Empress of India.

The Rural Service cancellations of Cyprus reflect a unique web of postal service points providing their service to the public in villages, monasteries, highway and forest or railway stations, military camps, not to mention the cases of a hotel, a factory or a mine.

This diversity and the interesting history and stories that lie behind every postmark (i.e. behind every point of service as described), make the Postal History of Cyprus unique and of extraordinary interest to collectors and students or researchers alike.
Below are some such postmarks on the half piastre postage stamp which was the most common inland postal rate during the Queen's reign.

A note to the discerning reader: Please do contact me - you are most welcome, if you think a description or information related to stamps is incorrect or suffers somehow. This site is not commercial. Pursuit of the hobby, knowledge, pleasure as well as leisure is what I aim for.
And one more note: This is a collection of stamps. Some are very rare while others are more common and, it always can happen that not every single stamp's image is available to be presented in this virtual collection. If you can help make more interesting images or information available to more people you are cordially invited.

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study on Cyprus stamps and [postal] history