50 people on a hard to find group of islands. They must send a lot of letters as they have plenty of stamps. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Obviously a postage stamp from a sort or real life Gilligan’s Island will mainly serve the international collector. That said, some of these tiny still English colonies do it right. The HM Armed Ship Bounty, that played such a central part of the islands history. Queen Elizabeth, youthful and crowned, looking out for her far off realm. The peace de resistance is the change to decimal currency being used for an overprint in gold, with an intricate representation of the Bounty’s anchor.
Todays stamp is issue A14, a one cent stamp issued by the British colony of Pitcairn Islands on July 10th, 1967. It was part of a 13 stamp issue in various denominations that overprinted a 1964 issue in the earlier currency. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 35 cents. The unoverprinted early version 1 penny version is worth 25 cents. There is a misprint of the 10 cent overprint that included the gold anchor but fails to include the 10 cent denomination. It is worth $2,000.
Pitcairn Island was first spotted by the HMS Swallow in 1767. It is named for Robert Pitcairn, a 15 year old midshipman on board who actually laid eyes on it. The Captain of the Swallow misrecorded the location so that Captain Cook could not find it again later. There is evidence of an earlier Polynesian colony but it had gone extinct. Who did find it were the mutineers of the HMS Bounty and their Tahitian wives and helpers. 21 people came ashore and the Bounty was scuttled in 1795. Their first years were rough with alcoholism and several murders but a mutineer with the ships Bible was able to establish a more Christian society of peace. A missionary that passed through in the 19th century found an active Christian congregation and temperance society.
The islands’ population peaked in 1937 at 137 but there has been some emigration to Australia taking the number down to 50. There has only been one child born on the island in the last 20 years. The main occupations are fishing, tourism and bee keeping. There are no hotels on the island but it is possible to stay with families and there is a boat that takes day trips to the island.
The 2000s have seen a sexual crisis on the island. A sex assault/ child porn ring caught up 15 locals that were convicted. Clearly the islands got internet. Britain built a prison on the island for them to serve their terms. Britain makes sure there is a police officer, a doctor, and a mayor on the islands but the expense is high and there are ever present questions on when the plug will be pulled and settlement on the islands ends.
Well my drink is empty, and so I will pour another to toast the mutineer with the ships Bible. Where was his descendant when the island got internet?. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.