The British Guiana King George VI stamps were printed from 1938 until about 1952. The stamps were printed by Waterlow & Sons using designs that were initially made for the King George V set beginning in 1931. The designs that do not include the King's portrait continued with no change, although for a few the color was changed. Like all Waterlow sets, most of the differences between the printings are found in the paper and gum characteristics. However, in the case of British Guiana, there were perforation changes that can help you isolate various time periods.

The primary difference I have seen in all of the Waterlow printed King George VI stamps has been the appearance of the paper and gum as seen from the back. I like to put them against black paper and view them under twin spotlamps. Early printings (1938) tend to have a creamy appearance; 1940 era printings tend to be a little less creamy and the paper appears thicker (or less opaque); 1943-1944 printings tend to be on paper that appears thinner (more transparent) with gum that is slightly whiter than the earlier printings; and later printings from the late 1940's thru early 1950's tend to exhibit a brighter, whiter appearance. Use the Perf 14 issues to find the later papers. They were all printed in the late 1940's and early 1950's. This is all relative and it really helps to have multiple stamps to compare as you are making these evaluations. I sometimes use other Waterlow countries' stamps as I make my decision about these printings. The ones shown below are from the St. Helena set which are a good tool because of the color changes which are limited to specific time periods. Send me an email if you want to know what stamps can be used to build your own paper and gum chart.

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or suggest a correction.