The modern country of Guyana was called British Guiana until 1966. (Note the spelling difference!) Beginning in 1850, British Guiana was issued its own stamps as a British colony. British Guiana stamps are now collectible for many reasons, and include what is perhaps the world’s rarest postage stamp.
The first British Guiana stamps were octagon-shaped and issued by local postmasters. These 8-sided stamps are rare now. They were superseded by actual, official colonial stamps in 1852. The British-issued stamps were intended for use in the entire British Guiana area. They were inscribed BRITISH GUIANA, or occasionally the shortened B. GUIANA.
The British Guiana 1¢ Magenta Stamps of 1856
In 1856, a series of crude stamps was used in a 1¢ and several 4¢ varieties. (British Guiana’s currency system was 1 dollar = 100 cents.) These makeshift stamps are called “magentas” after their color – black ink on magenta paper, though blue paper copies are known as well. Collecting these presents a teeny challenge to the British Guiana stamps completist: there is only one known copy of the 1¢ magenta.
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The one known verified 1¢ magenta of British Guiana was sold in 1980 for nearly $1,000,000, and its current location is not generally known. So while it is going to be difficult for you to fill in this hole in your collection, take heart. Other versions of the 1856 stamps from British Guiana do crop up from time to time on sites like eBay. They can go for thousands of dollars themselves, which is pricey but hey, better than a million bucks.
British Guiana Stamps After 1856: Impressive Variety
In the 1870s and 1880s, another series of crude British Guiana stamps were issued that are now infamous among collectors. Stamps with an OFFICIAL overprint are popular with some collectors, as are the various surcharged INLAND REVENUE stamps issued between about 1889 and 1903.
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Other special British Guiana stamps, in addition to the sweepingly-designed regular issues that continued, were war tax stamps from 1918 and some postage due stamps that were issued first in 1940.
In 1966, the British Guiana colony became the new and independent country Guyana. It started up its own stamp-issuing program that continues to this day. The philatelic legacy of British Guiana has left not only the above-mentioned items, but large numbers of complete sets, airmail items, errors and misprints, first day covers, covers and postcards, and much more. Concentrating on British Guiana stamps is a particularly varied and enjoyable corner of the hobby, and new sales offers from online vendors came and go daily.
