1937 Coronation King George VI

Bermuda Coronation First Day Cover

Bermuda issued an omnibus issue to commemorate the Coronation of King George VI on 12th May 1937.

Date: 14th May 1937
Common Cachet: Stamped – CORONATION KING GEORGE VI. FIRST DAY COVER
Stamps: Omnibus issue 12th May 1937 BERMUDA 1d, 1½d and 2½d

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37C HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – Coronation GR Commemoration ER 12th May 1937 FIRST DAY COVER
Address: J. E. Lea Esq., 36 Cross Street, Manchester, 2, England.

[hr]

Type: Westminster First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH / STAMPS ISSUED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE CORONATION OF THEIR MAJESTIES KING GEORGE VI & QUEEN ELIZABETH
Registration Label: R HAMILTON, BERMUDA No 0795
Address: The Westminster Stamp Co., Bank Chambers, 32 Strand. WC2

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Backstamps: 5.17 1937 NEW YORK, N.Y. REG’Y. DIV. and MAY 18 1937 RICHMOND. VA. REG. DIV.
Cachet: Printed – CORONATION 1937 H.M. GEORGE VI HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
Registration Label: R HAMILTON, BERMUDA No 0259
Address: Hugh C. Priddy, Box 6-H, Richmond, Virginia

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37B HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – Commemorating the Coronation of His Royal Majesty, George VI King of England, Emperor of India, Defender of the Faith, May 12, 1937
Address: Mr Kurt Scheunert, 94-15 41st.Road, Elmhurst, L.I. U.S.A.

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Backstamps: 28 MY RUISLIP MIDDLESEX
Cachet: Purple King George VI and Queen Elizabeth FIRST DAY COVER
Address: Ruislip Stamp Co., GPO Box No. 1, Ruislip, Middlesex, England

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37B HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: Commemorating the Coronation of His Majesty George VI King of England, Emperor of India, Defender of the Faith, May 12, 1937
Address: Mr. K. M. Walsh, 3100 St. Paul St., Baltimore, Md. U.S.A.

[hr]

Type: Registered First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37B HAMILTON BERMUDA
Registration Label: R HAMILTON, BERMUDA No 0421
Address: Master Patrick Chovil, 4 Ellerslie Gardens, Alverstoke, England

[hr]

Type: Registered First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37A FLATTS BERMUDA
Address: C. Edward Ceder, 701 South 13th., Tacoma, Washington U.S.A

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37B MANGROVE BAY BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – First Day Cover, Special Coronation Issue, 1937, Bermuda, British West Indies
Address: C. H. Tregenza, 17 Battery Place, Room 1926, New York City, U.S.A

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY37A IRELAND ISLAND BERMUDA
Address: 4 Gordon Terrace, Boaz Island, Bermuda

[hr]

Type: First Day Cover
CDS: 14MAY.37.A ST. GEORGE’S BERMUDA
Address: Mrs Fred C Outerbridge, St. George’s, Bermuda

Forgeries

Look out for Bermuda Coronation sets of 3 on covers with first day cancel addressed to the forger, J. D. Harris & Son, 43 Lightwoods Hill, Birmingham, England. Harris was imprisoned for 9 months after Robson Lowe exposed him for applying forged first day cancels to Coronation covers.

About the Omnibus issue

Key facts

Designer: De La Rue
Printer: De La Rue
Process: Lithography
Perforation: 14
Watermark: Multiple Script CA
Release Date: 14th May 1937

Co-ordinators: Crown Agents
Issuing territories: 45 (+13 bespoke designs)
Number of stamps: 135

On 11th December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated and his younger brother, Prince Albert, Duke of York,  became King George VI of Great Britain and the Empire. The Coronation planned for Edward on 12th May 1937 still stood, so less time was available to organise a commemorative stamp issue with the participating colonies.

The issue was co-ordinated by the Crown Agents’ office in London with a total of 45 issuing countries producing 135 variants of the design used by Bermuda.

Each country’s issue featured three denominations, each stamp showing a portrait of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth together with the Royal Symbols and the date 12th May 1937.  The name of each participating territory and value tablets were included.

List of participating territories using ‘Bermuda’ design

1. Aden
2. Antigua
3. Ascension
4. Bahamas
5. Barbados
6. Basutoland
7. Bechuanaland Protectorate
8. Bermuda
9. British Guiana
10. British Honduras
11. British Solomon Islands
12. British Virgin Islands
13. Cayman Islands
14. Ceylon
15. Cyprus
16. Dominica
17. Falkland Islands
18. Fiji
19. Gambia
20. Gibraltar
21. Gilbert and Ellice Islands
22. Gold Coast
23. Grenada
24. Hong Kong
25. Jamaica
26. Kenya Uganda Tanganyika
27. Leeward Islands
28. Malta
29. Mauritius
30. Montserrat
31. Newfoundland
32. Nigeria
33. Northern Rhodesia
34. Nyasaland
35. St. Helena
36. St. Christopher and Nevis
37. St. Lucia
38. St. Vincent
39. Seychelles
40. Sierra Leone
41. Somaliland Protectorate
42. Straits Settlements Malaya
43. Swaziland
44. Trinidad and Tobago
45. Turks & Caicos Islands

Other participating territories using bespoke designs

1. Canada (1)
2. Cook Islands (3 New Zealand overprints)
3. Great Britain (1)
4. Morocco Agencies (3 GB overprints French, Spanish and Tangier)
5. Nauru (4)
6. Newfoundland (11 additional stamps in extended set)
7. New Guinea (4 – Nauru design)
8. New Zealand (3)
9. Nieu (3 New Zealand overprints)
10. Papua (4 – Nauru design)
11. South Africa (10 – 5 bilingual pairs)
12. South West Africa (16 – 8 bilingual pairs)
13. Southern Rhodesia (4)