Trengganu State lies on the East coast of the Malay Peninsula. British influence began in 1910 when a treaty was signed in Singapore putting Trengganu under the protection of Great Britain.

Stamps from Trengganu initially were issued beginning in 1910 featuring the portrait of Sultan Zain-ul ab Din. These stamps were overprinted for a Red Cross issue and later for the Malaya-Borneo Exhibition. Ultimately they were replaced with a new issue with the portrait of his successor Sultan Suleiman beginning in 1921.

The key to identifying the varieties found in this set of stamps lies in the two watermarks, determining the paper types, and sorting the color variations on the 3c, 4c, 5c and $3 values. There were two types of paper used: Chalk Paper was used for the original printings beginning in 1921, and Ordinary (also called Substitute) Paper was used for a couple of printings in 1941. The Japanese invaded Malaya in December, 1941, so the Ordinary paper issues are found primarily used. As a result of the invasion, four new color stamps that were produced were never issued. As always seems to happen, a stock of the unreleased stamps were sold to collectors.

The two watermarks used were Multiple Crown CA which was used for 3 values in 1921 and Multiple Script CA for all the values beginning in 1924. The stamps watermarked Multiple Crown CA will have sans serif letters with a crown that is narrow and straight edged. The Multiple Script CA watermark has cursive letters and a crown that is more rounded. See the images of the two watermarks below for reference. They are shown as normally seen from the back. Only the stamps with two watermark options will have the watermark listed below.

Many collectors have trouble identifying colors. I find it helps to have a number of stamps to sort rather than just one or two. Unfortunately that can be a problem with more expensive stamps. I place all of the same value stamps on black and then white paper and look at them under a strong light. The color differences tend to stand out when viewed this way. The four color shades that are catalogued for this set fall into two groups: The 5c and the $3 stamp which are on chalk paper and the 3c and 4c stamp which are initially on chalk and later ordinary paper, so compare the paper to determine these stamps. The 5c you want to find is the same one that was overprinted 2c in 1941, so just compare your 5c values with the overprinted ones to find the color shade. I have seen a number of different shades of this stamp so don't be surprised to find variation.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. I do not have the quantity printed, but would be interested in adding this information to this page if a fellow collector provides it.

The catalog numbers are from the 2008 Commonwealth King George VI Postage Stamp Catalogue (CW) published by Murray Payne, 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The historical details, descriptions, and dates are from "The Postage Stamps of the Federated Malay States, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Straits Settlements, Sungei Ujong, and Trengganu" by Dr. F. E. Wood. The revenue stamp listings are from British Commonwealth Revenues by J. Barefoot and A. Hall. My copy was published in 1990, but there are newer versions available. You can access the catalogue publishers using the "Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites" at the bottom of this page.

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.

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