Revenue stamps of Fiji
Revenue stamps of Fiji were first issued in 1871, when the Fiji islands were an independent kingdom. The first revenue stamps consisted of postage stamps overprinted with the letter D.[1]
After Fiji became a British crown colony in 1874, postage stamps began to be used for fiscal purposes. A new design depicting Queen Victoria and inscribed FIJI STAMP DUTY was prepared in 1880, and it was coarsely printed by the Government Printer in Sydney. The issue consists of ten stamps with values ranging from 1d to £1,[1] and it was issued on Fiji sometime in 1883. Some stamps are known postally used, although this was contrary to regulations. This issue remained in use until 1896, when postage stamps became valid for fiscal use once again. All remaining stocks were destroyed in 1903.[2]
From 1910 onwards, postage stamps were once again overprinted for fiscal use, this time with the letter R and with a vertical bar cancelling the original inscription POSTAGE. The first stamps to be overprinted were those depicting King Edward VII, while in 1914 the new stamps depicting King George V were also overprinted. Both sets exist with two different types of watermark each. In both the Edward VII and George V sets, high values were created by overprinting £1 postage stamps (the highest value available) with new values of £3, £5 or £10. The last set of overprints was issued in around 1922.[1]
The first plans to introduce impressed duty stamps were made in late 1876, but it is unclear what became of the order.[2] Impressed stamps were in use during the 20th century.
References
- Barefoot, John (2012). British Commonwealth Revenues (9 ed.). York: J. Barefoot Ltd. p. 154. ISBN 0906845726.
- Elsmore, Dave (April 2012). "Fiji: The 1880 Queen Victoria Revenue Issue" (PDF). The Informer. Society of Australasian Specialists/Oceania. 76 (2): 29, 31–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2017.