Page 258 - Sierra Leone to 1961 - The Collection

Royal Silver Wedding 1948

1½d Photogravure by Waterlow & Sons Ltd., Multiple Script CA Watermark. Perf 14 x 15
£1 Typographed & Recess Printed by Bradbury Wilkinson, MSCA Watermark. Perf 11 x 12½

Heavy post war production commitments created many difficulties for the security printers, and again one
issue had to be shared between more than one printer as the design was used by 45 colonies, requiring a total
of around ten million stamps. The £1 value was particularly difficult to produce; the basic stamp was recess
printed, with the colony name being inserted by typography. The stamps were placed on sale on 1 December
1948, many months after the actual anniversary, and demonetised 1 September 1951. No stamps were either
overprinted or perforated ‘SPECIMEN’ for UPU distribution.

1½d Magenta £1 Indigo Top--right corner examples with sheet numbers.
771,000 92,700 Only sheets that were sent to the Colony were numbered. Of the
1,545 sheets of £1 printed, just 45 (3%) were despatched to Freetown.

1 December 1948 - Local letter within Freetown.
Used on first day that the adhesives were on sale.