St. Albans, Harpenden & District Philatelic Society

"From my Collection"

Some interesting examples from our collections

ONLY A FARTHING

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Some readers may recall the small Farthing coin - a quarter of an old penny and with 960 to the pound.

Britain itself never issued a Farthing stamp (¼d) although private Circular Dellivery Companies offered a Farthing Local Delivery service in 1865-69 until suppressed by the Post Office). However over the years a number of British colonies did offer a Farthing Rate, beginning with Barbados in 1896.

In most cases the farthing rate covered inland newspapers, but there were exceptions to this, one being the Turks & Caicos Islands where a farthing rate was introduced on 1 August 1910 to cover

Inland letters for delivery from the office of posting (¼d per oz)

Inland postcards

Inland books, papers & parcels  - ¼d per 2oz.

​A farthing stamp featuring the Turk's Head cactus was issued in 1910. The Dependency's other stamps bore the King's head, but this design was unique to the ¼d denomination and whilst there were changes in colour and watermark, it remained in use until 1938 when replaced by the King George VI raking salt design.

Local  ¼d rate cover postmarked  Grand Turk (date unknown)

1911 Recess-printed by De La Rue & Co Watermark Multiple Crown CA P.14.

Turks & Caicos postage rates were increased on 1 June 1948 and the farthing rate abolished.

The last colony to have a Farthing Rate was the Cayman Islands where an inland postcard rate of one farthing persisted until decimalisation in 1969, although it is believe that the rate continued in the form of its decimal equivalent of ¼ cent (Jamica $).

The last farthing stamp to be issued was the Cayman Islands Grand Cayman Thrush ¼d definitive that was re-issued on watermarked paper on 11 August 1969.

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6/7/2020