The Queen's Staircase issues date back to the time of King Edward VII. You will find them with three different watermarks: Crown CC, Multiple Crown CA (MCA), and Multiple Script CA (MSCA).

Identifying the Bahamas KGV Queen's Staircase MSCA issues is primarily a matter of determining the difference between the watermarks, and finding the various color shades. This set was in use from 1921 until it was replaced with the KGV Tercentenary Issues in 1930.

I find it is easiest to see the watermarks by placing the stamps against black paper and looking at them under a strong light. If you can't see the watermark under these conditions, feel free to use safe watermark fluid. Look for either the difference in the shape of the crown, or the font used. The Crown CC and Multiple Crown CA use a sans-serif style font. The Multiple Script CA watermark uses an italic style of font. Reverse scans of the three watermarks are shown below. They appear as you would see them looking at the back of the stamp.

The catalog numbers are from the 1980 Commonwealth Five Reigns Catalogue (CW), 2011 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The description is from the Commonwealth Catalogue. Please contact Bridger & Kay to obtain a copy of this publication.

The images were saved in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in sorting them. Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for this page to load. You should also note that colors shown on the internet are not exact, so use the colors shown in reference to each other rather than as an exact match.

This article was written to help you identify your stamps. Please feel free to ask a question, or include a correction.
We are always interested in additional shades or more information on these stamps. Please feel free to let us know if you have anything helpful.