Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands (British) stamps

P=have O=don’t have it

The Virgin Islands are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, part of the Leeward Islands. The islands are divided into two parts, one of which, the British Virgin Islands, is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The other is the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. Christopher Columbus named the islands Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgines (shortened to Las Virgines), after St Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins. They were inhabited by Carib Indians, whom Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor wiped out when he took over the islands in 1555 for the Holy Roman Empire.The islands were later peopled by Africans who were enslaved on sugar plantations, and on at least one indigo plantation. The sugar plantations are now gone, but the descendents of the slaves are still there, sharing a common West Indian culture with the other English-speaking islands of the Caribbean. Tourism is now the main industry.

Scott: #94O

Issued: 10.10.1949

UPU Issue

Inside #94: Stamps on Envelopes

Scott: #169-72P

Issued: 25.4.1966

Centenary, Virgin Islands Postage Stamps

Inside #170-1: Virgin Islands #1O

Inside #170, #172: Virgin Islands #2O

Thanks to Sergei Divid for the scan

Scott: #360-2P

See also - Special Album

Issued: 1.10.1979

Death Centenary of Sir Rowland Hill

Inside #360: Virgin Islands #118O

Inside #361: Virgin Islands #11O

Inside #362: Virgin Islands G. B. SG #266a (not issued)

Scott: #363PP

See also - Special Album

VIR M5 Inside #363: Virgin Islands #8cO

Scott: #389-90P

Issued: 7.7.1979

Overprint #361-2

Scott: #409-12O

Issued: 16.9.1981

25th Anniversary, Duke of Edinburgh's Awards

Inside #409: Stamp Collecting

#590-3

Scott: #590-3P

Issued: 17.12.1987

200th Anniversary, Postal Service

Inside #590: Virgin Islands #7O

Inside #591: Virgin Islands #22O

Inside #592: Virgin Islands #5O

#154 Inside #593: Virgin Islands #154O

#594

Scott: #594O

Inside #594: Virgin Islands #10O

Martin Hirschbühl wrote: Much to my regrets, this issue lost a bit of its glory. As you might know, I adore SoS with related postmarks.

But during describing my SoS-Albums, it came to light, that the TORTOLA cancel is of 1870, while the ONE PENNY was issued in 1880. Nobody is perfect...

Lou wrote: It seems designers are sometimes more concerned with appearance rather than accuracy. It's not the first such error, and no one seemed to care about this in 1987, but back then I added the s/s to my SoS/Postmarks Designer Errors Hall of Infamy, and learned a new word. I first described the 1870 postmark on a 1880 stamp as an anachronism, but a little more study in the dictionary showed the correct term would be a parachronism. An anachronism is a modern item or term used before its time and a parachronism is an old term or item used in its future. I'm still waiting for either to show up in a crossword puzzle!