The first Barbados stamps were issued in 1852 and just a few years later, the first articles started appearing in the philatelic press. By 1954 there were specialist societies dedicated to West Indies philately and over the years some extraordinarily passionate collectors have added considerably to the sum of knowledge about Barbados stamps.

You might think, therefore, that after 170 years everything that could be written about these stamps had been written, but you’d be wrong.

Back in 2016 I wrote on this website about a new watermark discovery in the 1920 Victory series, issued in Barbados. The stamp that featured in that article was the 2½d value and it subsequently, following a certificate of authenticity, was accepted in the next edition of Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps 1840-1970 (Part 1).

Similarly, I reported a discovery by Stuart Chandler of Empire Philatelists in 2020 of a long missing Perkins Bacon “CANCELLED” hand stamp on ½d deep green from 1861.

Fast forward to 2024 and another discovery has appeared, this time from Richard Wilson, a Barbados stamps collector from Gibraltar.

Richard wrote to me to advise that he’d found a 2d stamp from the same 1920 Victory set as the earlier discovery, but this time with the ‘“A of “CA” missing’ variety.

In correspondence with Richard he informed me that he’s had the stamp in his collection for over 20 years, having acquired it in a job lot at auction in the U.K. Once he realised that it might be something a little different, he’s sent it to the B.P.A. for expertising and they have confirmed that the stamp is genuine and, as far as they know, the first to be found. This means that when the next edition of Part 1 is issued in 2025, this stamp should feature in the Barbados section for the first time.

Here’s the scans from Richard showing the easily spotted missing “A” (I’ve circled it so it’s clear) and the certificate from B.P.A. that now accompanies it.

All of which goes to show, that no matter how long you spend studying stamps, there’s always a chance you will find something that no one has ever spotted, even after 170 years.

So, don’t delay, look in your collection today and see if there’s a hidden gem lurking in your stamps.