The British Virgin Islands are a colony of Britain that have used their own stamps since 1866. Stamps were inscribed with VIRGIN ISLANDS for several decades, but since 1968 have usually been inscribed BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. Note that the British Virgin Islands are not to be confused with the United States Virgin Islands, which use the stamps of the U.S.
In the era of stamps inscribed with the shorter name, VIRGIN ISLANDS, there were a relatively small number of issues. It is not too unreasonable for collectors to try to get a complete set of these, although they spanned over 100 years. Price may bar some from acquiring good examples of Virgin Islands stamps from the first four or five years, however (until 1870 or so); these stamps tend to be much rarer than later issues.
See also: Cuba rare stamps for philatelists and other buyers
Following 1968, the number of stamps issued for the British Virgin Islands was increased gradually, as was the number of special collectors’ philatelic items. The name of the colony has been rendered slightly differently on these modern stamps — usually BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, but sometimes BR. VIRGIN ISLANDS or BRITISH VIRGIN IS., with an inconsistent use of mixed-case and upper-case versions. Virgin Islands stamps virtually always feature a monarch’s silhouette or a royal cypher.
Souvenir sheets, first day covers, maxicards, and other collectibles are beloved by many collectors in addition to the war tax stamps, errors and misprints, airmail stamps, MNH examples, and other British Virgin Islands stamp collectibles. Our current selection is listed in this section.
