King George V Single Star Watermark

King George V was proclaimed the Emperor of India on 16th December 1911 and a lavish coronation was held at the Delhi Durbar. Dignitaries from far-off places, including the Royals of Indian Princely states attended the ceremony to reiterate their allegiance to the new King. 

Special Coronation post offices were opened in Delhi, and each post office was allotted a special postmark to commemorate this occasion. Being an avid philatelist, King George V did not just collect stamps but also influenced the designs and printing styles of the stamps issued during his reign. 

Definitive postage stamps of King George V were issued starting in 1911, the last sets of stamps printed by De La Rue & Co., before printing shifted to the Nashik Press. The stamps were printed on single-star watermarked sheets with jubilee lines, each sheet of lower denominations containing 256 stamps. The various values printed were 3 pies, ½ anna, 1 anna, 1 ½  anna, 2 annas, 2 annas and 6 pies, 3 annas, 4 annas, 6 annas, and 8 annas. Higher denomination rupee stamps were issued for 1 re, 2 rs, 5 rs, 10 rs, 15 rs and 25 rs. The inscription carried ‘INDIA POSTAGE’ and the denomination.