Stamps of Liberia 1860 - 1996

In this section you can find all basic stamps and souvenir sheets issued by Liberia through 1996. If should be seen as a help for identification; therefore, stamps are organized mainly by design regardless of catalog number or intended purpose, meaning that regular, official and airmail stamps including surcharges are grouped together.
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Below each stamp are given its Scott catalog number to the left, date of issue to the right, and information about the catalog value in the middle (mint - used). Values are mainly based on Scott and Michel 2012 catalogs, and are coded by falling into one of ten price ranges, indicated by the number of diamonds: ” = below 30c, ♦♦” = 30c..99c, ♦♦♦” = $1..$2.99, ♦♦♦♦” = $3..$9.99, ♦♦♦♦♦” = $10..$29, ♦♦♦♦♦♦” = $30..$99, ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦” = $100..$299, ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦” = $300..$999, ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦” = $1000..$2999, ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦” = $3000 and above. Catalog prices for many Liberian stamps are dubious, but at least this should give you a hint if some stamp is waste paper or your ticket to Rio!

Stamp images have a resolution of 150 dpi, except for souvenir sheets which have 100 dpi. Thus, on the average 96 dpi monitor souvenir sheets will show close to their natural size, while stamps are enlarged by 50 percent.

Crosses and Circles watermark Crosses and Circles
Rosette watermark Rosette
Watermarks
In general, Liberia's classic postage stamps were printed on paper without dedicated watermark – some are known with paper-makers watermark – but there are two exceptions: most of the early Waterlow & Sons issues are watermarked “Rosette” (not the triangle stamps), and all issues printed in Germany are watermarked “Crosses and Circles”.
  • Allegory of Liberia 1860-1880 and surcharges

    The design of Liberia’s first issue, “Allegory of Liberia sitting on a rock and a sailing ship”, was probably inspired by the Perkins Bacon die of 1848 for Trinidad, Mauritius and Barbados first used in 1851. Four transfers were made, lithographed from line-engraved dies by Dando, Todhunter and Smith, London (first transfer), later trading as T.F. Todhunter (second to last transfer). Transfers are numbered here following the (independent) findings of Legrand and Napier, as quoted by Cockrill in his LIBERIA series booklet No 3. More ...
    • 1st transfer 1860

      lithographed from line-engraved dies by Dando, Todhunter & Smith, London, on unwatermarked handmade thick, grayish-white paper perforated 11 to 12; stamps were printed 1½ to 2 mm apart, without outer frame line except the 12c value which may show traces of dividing lines on one or more sides.
      • 1
        1860
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 2
        1860
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 3
        1860
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
    • 2nd transfer 1864

      lithographed from line-engraved dies by T.F. Todhunter, London, on two different types of unwaterwarked paper, perforated 12 and 11: 1.) medium yellowish wove paper with vertical mesh, and 2.) medium grayish to white wove paper; printed with extra frame line around each stamp at a distance of about 1 mm, and about 4 to 6 mm distance between stamps (i.e. ~3 mm between their outer frame lines).
      • 7
        1864
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦ - ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 8
        1864
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 9
        1864
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
    • 3rd transfer 1867

      lithographed from line-engraved dies by T.F. Todhunter, London, on unwatermarked and very thin white wove paper perforated 12; also on silky paper (very rare); stamps printed with extra frame line like second transfer, but only 2 to 3 mm apart, so that the frame lines almost run together and single stamps sometimes appear to have a double line on one or more sides.
      • SG10
        1867
      • SG11
        1867
      • SG12
        1867
    • 4th transfer 1866-1869

      lithographed from line-engraved dies by T.F. Todhunter, London, on unwatermarked medium white wove paper perforated 11 and 12; stamps were printed 2 to 2½ mm apart, without outer frame line; similar to first transfer, but on softer and thinner paper.
      • 13
        1866-1869
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 14
        1866-1869
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 15
        1866-1869
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
    • new values 1880

      design like previous issue, but in new colors and supplementary values; lithographed by T.F. Todhunter, London, from dies prepared by D. Feldwick, and printed on unwatermarked paper perforated 10½ with extra frame line like second transfer of 1864.
      • 16
        1880
        ♦♦♦♦ - ♦♦♦♦♦
      • 17
        1880
        ♦♦♦♦
      • 18
        1880
        ♦♦♦♦
      • 19
        1880
        ♦♦♦♦
      • 20
        1880
        ♦♦♦♦
    • WWI provisional surcharge issue

      • 157
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 157a
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ - ♦♦♦♦♦♦
      • 158
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦
      • 158a
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦♦
      • 158_dropped9
        1916
      • 158b
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦♦ - 
      • 158_double_ovpt
        1916
      • 159
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦
      • 159_dropped9
        1916
      • 159a
        1916
        ♦♦♦♦♦
      • 159b
        1916
      • 159_double_ovpt
        1916
      • 159_triple_ovpt
        1916