The British Guiana pictorial issues comprise two different sets. The initial one was issued in 1931 to commemorate the union of 3 counties to form the Colony of British Guiana. These issues all have banners showing 1831 and 1931. The design must have been popular because it was used again in 1934 for the new definitive issues which replaced the previous King George V set, and for the King George VI set which was issued in 1938.

The stamp designs that were used for the 1934 set differ from the 1931 issues in that the dates are no longer included in the design. These designs were also used for the King George VI set which was printed into the 1950's. Where King George V's image was included, the portrait of the new King was substituted. Other issues, like the 3c, 12c, 24c, 48c, 72c, and 96c were used with no changes in the design. New colors were used for the 24c, 48c and 96c values. The 72c issue was used with no changes. Perforation changes from the original Perf 12.5 are found in the 3c and 12c values. These are not shown here because they were issued only during the King George VI era.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. Both sets were printed in quantities less than 25,000. This number is for the $1 values, the remaining values were printed in greater quantity.

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 and printing details are from the Commonwealth Catalogue. Please contact Bridger & Kay to obtain a copy of this publication. You can access the other publishers using the "Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites" at the bottom of this page.

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