King George VI Multiple Small Stars Watermark

The second set of King George VI’s definitive issues went for sale in October 1940. The shortage of paper and other resources led the designers to discard large pictorial stamps in favour of more austere designs. T.I Archer did a complete redrawing and a set of stamps smaller in size were designed. The stamps were printed at the Security Printing Press, Nashik. There were no higher rupee values and all stamps consisted of the portrait of the King. All stamps were printed in sheets of 320, except the sixteen anna stamp which was printed in sheets of 160.

The stamps were issued in denominations of three pies (slate), half anna (purple), nine pies (green), one anna (carmine), one anna three pies (yellow-brown), one and a half annas (dull violet), two annas (vermilion), three annas (bright violet).