King George VI Multiple Small Stars Watermark

King George VI ascended the throne while dark clouds of war were looming over Europe and the Empire was going through a turbulent phase.  The responsibility of steering the country through the Nazi Blitzkrieg, Evacuation from Dunkirk, Battle for Britain, Normandy Invasion and the Burma Campaign fell on ‘Bertie’ young shoulders. The turmoil of the war and the resulting austere measures show up in the stamps of the period.

There was no lavish Durbar for King George VI and no stamps to mark the occasion. The first definitive series was issued on 23rd August 1931. The stamps were published at the Security Printing Press, Nashik, and were the first regular issues to carry a pictorial design. The printing was done on sheets of 320 with multiple star watermarks. The Rupee value stamps were printed on sheets of 120. The sheets originally meant to be printed as booklets contained tête-bêche pairs.

The stamps were printed in denominations of three pies (slate), half anna (red-brown), nine pies (green), one anna (carmine), two annas (vermilion), three anna six pies (bright violet), three annas (blue), four annas (brown), six annas (turquoise green), eight annas (slate violet), twelve annas (lake), one rupee (grey and red b-own), two rupees (purple and red b-own), five rupees (green and blue), ten rupees (purple and claret), fifteen rupees (brown and green), twenty-five rupees (slate violet and purple). All values existed with watermarks inverted.