_Variety._ Imperforate. Probably proof.
4d., black.
Issue III. 1st June 1870(?).
_One value._ Engraved and printed by the British-American Bank Note Co.,
of Montreal and Ottawa, upon medium white wove unwatermarked paper;
yellowish gum, machine perforated 12. Design: Diademed, nearly full
face, portrait of Queen Victoria looking to left, upon background of
horizontal lines, enclosed within an upright oval. Curved label of solid
colour following the shape of the oval at the left, top, and right side,
inscribed with the name of the Colony and the word “POSTAGE” in white
Roman capitals. Arabesques in the lower corners, surrounding a background
of cross-hatched lines. The left contains “3d. STG.,” and the right “CY.
4½d.” in white numerals and letters. The upper corners also contain
arabesques. Shape, upright rectangular. (_Illustration 102._)
4½d., yellowish-brown (shades).
Issue IV. January 4th (?), 1872.
_Six values._ Lithographed(?) and printed by Mr. Charles Whiting,
of London, upon medium white wove unwatermarked paper; yellowish or
brown gum, machine-perforated 12, 12½. The entire sheet of each value
consists of one hundred stamps, arranged in ten rows of ten. Designs:
The same diademed profile of Queen Victoria to left is found upon all
the stamps. ONE CENT.—The head rests upon a background of horizontal
lines, surrounded by a circular band of solid colour, inscribed with
the name of the Colony above and the word “POSTAGE,” below. Straight
label of solid colour at the bottom of the stamp, with value in full.
Small upright rectangular blocks of solid colour in the four corners,
containing numeral of value. Spandrels filled in with reticulations, and
a plain outer line of colour completes the design. TWO CENTS.—The head
is upon a background of solid colour, enclosed within a narrow upright
oval band of reticulations. Plain label of solid colour surrounding
the upper part of the oval, inscribed with the name of the Colony and
“POSTAGE.” Straight label of solid colour at the bottom of the stamp,
with value in full. Square blocks of solid colour in the four corners,
containing Arabic numeral of value. The remainder of the design is filled
in with reticulations, with a border formed of a plain coloured line.
THREE CENTS.—The head of Her Majesty is upon a background of horizontal
lines, enclosed within a fancy trilobed band of reticulations, having
over it a curved label of solid colour inscribed with the name of the
Colony. Straight labels of solid colour at the top and bottom of the
stamp, the lower one extending quite across. The upper bears “POSTAGE”
and the bottom one the value in full. Small upright rectangular blocks in
the upper corners, containing Arabic numeral of value. The rest of the
design consists of reticulations and a border of a plain coloured line.
FOUR CENTS.—The head rests upon a background of solid colour, enclosed
within a fancy-shaped octagonal band of reticulations. Straight labels
of solid colour at top and bottom of the stamp, the upper inscribed in
two lines “POSTAGE—PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND,” and the lower with the value
in words. Square blocks of solid colour in the four corners, containing
Arabic numeral of value. The sides of the stamp are filled in with
reticulations, and a plain outer coloured line completes the design. SIX
CENTS.—The Queen’s head is on a background of horizontal lines, enclosed
within a fancy-shaped hexagonal band of reticulations. Two straight
labels of solid colour at the top, and a similar one at the bottom of
the stamp. The upper are inscribed “POSTAGE—PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND,” and
the bottom bears the value in words. Square blocks of solid colour in
the upper corners, and similar upright rectangular ones in the lower,
contain the Arabic numeral of value. Straight bands of reticulations at
the sides of the stamp and a border of a plain coloured line complete
the design. TWELVE CENTS.—Head of Queen on background of solid colour,
enclosed within a band of reticulations forming a twelve-sided figure.
Curved plain label of solid colour above, and a similar straight label
extending the whole width of the stamp below. The upper is inscribed with
the name of the Colony and “POSTAGE,” and the lower with the value in
words. Square blocks of solid colour in the upper corners, with Arabic
numerals of value. The rest of the design is composed of reticulations
and a border of a plain coloured line. The inscriptions on all the stamps
are in white block letters, excepting the values in the bottom labels of
the Two, Four, Six, and Twelve Cents, which are in Roman capitals. Shape,
upright rectangular. (_Illustrations 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108._)
1 c., orange-yellow (shades).
2 c., ultramarine ( ” ).
3 c., rose ( ” ).
4 c., yellow-green ( ” ).
6 c., black ( ” ).
12 c., bright mauve ( ” ).
_Varieties._—(A) All the values may be found with dark brown gum, which
has stained the paper and given it a brownish hue. (B) All the values
exist imperforate but they are probably only proofs. (C) The Six Cents is
known divided in two, each half serving as Three Cents.
_Remarks._—A large stock of the stamps of each issue remained in
the hands of the postal authorities at the time the Island became
incorporated in the Dominion of Canada. The stock was disposed of in
1874 to a speculator, who has since supplied the principal stamp dealers
throughout the world.
NOTE BY MR. T. K. TAPLING, M.P.—In _The Stamp Collector’s Magazine_,
vol. x. p. 105, will be found an amended notice relating to the values
constituting the above issue. Among them is catalogued a Ten Cents on
the authority of _The American Journal of Philately_. Some discussion
arose subsequently as to the authenticity of this value, but the mystery
attaching to it seems never to have been wholly cleared up. Very few
specimens were seen, and these appear to have been obtained by M. Moens
from what he considered a thoroughly satisfactory source. Much doubt has
been thrown upon the stamp by English writers; but a few weeks since I
was shown a specimen in Mr. Pearson Hill’s collection, which he told
me had been there over seventeen years. Mr. Hill’s connection with our
General Post Office enabled him to get nearly all his stamps direct from
Foreign and Colonial Governments, and his impression is that this stamp
reached him in the same way. It is similar in design to the Three Pence
of the first issue, of which it is apparently a copy, though the details
are rather larger and the general appearance rougher. It is a companion
in style and execution to the issue of which it is supposed to form a
part, and the perforation (machine 12) is identical. The colour is dull
mauve. It is possible that the stamp was prepared and never issued,
though even in this case Mr. Hill might quite well have had a specimen
sent him with the others by the Prince Edward Island Government; but if
it was merely a fraudulent speculation it seems strange that copies are,
and always have been, exceedingly uncommon. I venture no definite opinion
either one way or the other, and hope this short note may draw an answer
from some one qualified to speak with certainty.