Commemoratives

Commemorative stamps of Bermuda

Bermuda has a very good selection of commemorative stamps to collect and is still issuing collectable commemorative stamps today. Bermuda’s first commemorative stamps were issued of 1920 to mark the 300th anniversary of representative institutions.

The first issue, designed by the Governor, consisted of the caravel seal and a profile of George V, with the inscriptions “BERMUDA COMMEMORATIVE STAMP” above and “TERCENTENARY OF ESTABLISHMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS” below. A second issue designed by the Assembly in 1921, commemorated the same occasion with a completely different design, with George V in the centre and various symbols in the corners.

Bermuda issued a pictorial series of stamps in 1936, consisting of nine stamps with seven different designs depicting local scenery. Several of the designs were reused, and three more added, for a 1938 issue featuring George VI.

Commemorative issues that regularly occur are anniversaries of Bermuda, Perot’s provisional, Royal birthdays and anniversaries and the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

Bermuda Commemorative Stamps

1920-21 – Tercentenary of Establishment of Representative Institutions – First Issue
1921 – Tercentenary of Establishment of Representative Institutions – Second Issue
1935 – King George V Silver Jubilee (omnibus)
1937 – King George VI Coronation (omnibus)
1946 – Peace/Victory (omnibus)
1948 – Royal Silver Wedding (omnibus)
1949 – Centenary of Postmaster Perot’s Stamp
1949 – 75th Anniversary of Universal Postal Union (omnibus)
1953 – Coronation Queen Elizabeth II
1953 – Royal Visit
1959 – Perot’s Post Office
1959 – 350th Anniversary of First Settlement
1963 – Freedom from Hunger (omnibus)
1963 – Red Cross Centenary (omnibus)
1964 – Olympic Games Tokyo
1965 – ITU Centenary (omnibus)
1965 – 50th Anniversary of Bermuda Boy Scouts Association
1965 – International Co-operation Year (omnibus)
1966 – Churchill Commemoration (omnibus)
1966 – World Cup Football Championship (omnibus)
1966 – 20th Anniversary of UNESCO
1967 – Opening of New General Post Office, Hamilton
1967 – Inauguration of Bermuda-Tortola Telephone Service
1968 – International Human Rights Year (omnibus)
1968 – New Constitution
1968 – Olympic Games, Mexico
1969 – 50th Anniversary of Bermuda Girl Guides
1969 – Underwater Treasure
1970 – 350th of Bermuda Parliament
1971 – Keep Bermuda Beautiful
1971 – Voyage of Deliverance/Ships
1971 – Golfing in Bermuda
1971 – Heath-Nixon Meeting (overprint)
1972 – World Fishing Records
1972 – Silver Wedding
1973 – Plant-a-Tree
1973 – Royal Wedding HRH The Princes Anne & Capt Mark Phillips
1973 – Bermuda Centenary of Tennis
1974 – Rotary International
1975 – Bridge Championships
1975 – Royal Visit
1975 – 50th Anniversary of Airmail Service
1975 – Gunpowder Plot
1976 – Biological Station
1976 – Tall Ships Race
1976 – Cricket Club Match
1977 – Silver Jubilee
1977 – UPU Membership
1977 – Bermuda Piloting
1978 – QEII Coronation Anniversary
1979 – Antique Maps
1979 – Bermuda Police Service Centenary
1980 – Rowland Hill and The Penny Post
1980 – Mail Transport/LONDON ’80
1980 – Miss World 1979
1980 – Queen Mother 80th Birthday
1980 – Finance Ministers Meeting
1981 – Bermuda Heritage Issue
1981 – Royal Wedding Charles & Diana
1981 – The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
1982 – Bermuda Shells
1982 – Bermuda Regiment
1982 – Bermuda Forts
1983 – Bermuda Coats of Arms Part 1
1983 – Bermuda Fitted Dinghies
1983 – 200th Anniversary Manned Flight
1984 – First Newspaper & Postal Service
1984 – 375th Anniversary First Settlement
1984 – Los Angeles Olympic Games
1984 – Coats of Arms Pt2
1985 – Bermuda Architecture
1985 – Bicentenary of the birth of JJ Audubon
1985 – Life and Times of Queen Mother
1985 – Bermuda Coat of Arms Part 3
1985 – Halley’s Comet 1985/6
1986 – Queen Elizabeth II 60th Birthday (omnibus)
1986 – AMERIPEX ’86
1987 – Bermuda Transport Part I Railway c1931-1947s
1987 – Winslow Homer Bermudian Watercolours
1987 – Winslow Homer Bermudian Watercolours Booklet
1987 – 50th Anniversary of the Inaugural Commercial Flights to and from Bermuda
1987 – Centenary of the Bermuda Telephone Company
1988 – Transport II – Commercial Vehicles*
1988 – Old Garden Roses Pt1
1988 – Lloyd’s of London
1988 – Military Uniforms
1989 – Transport Pt3/Ferry Services
1989 – Photography 150th Anniversary
1989 – Old Garden Roses Part 2
1989 – Old Garden Roses Pt3
1989 – 150th Anniversary of the Bermuda Library
1989 – Postal Conference
1990 – Paintings Pt2
1990 – Postal Conference/LONDON ’90 (ovpt)
1990 – Cable & Wireless Centenary
1991 – Bush-Major Talks (ovpt)
1991 – Transport Pt4 Private Carriages
1991 – Paintings Pt3
1991 – Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip Birthdays
1991 – World War II
1992 – QEII 40th Accession Anniversary
1992 – Discovery of America/Artifacts
1992 – Bermuda Stained Glass Windows
1992 – 7th World Congress of Kennel Clubs
1993 – Tourism Posters
1993 – Royal Air Force 75th Anniversary
1993 – Old Garden Roses Pt4
1993 – Hamilton Bicentennial
1994 – 75th Anniversary of Furness Line’s Bermuda Cruises
1994 – Royal Visit*
1994 – Hospital Care
1994 – Flowering Fruits Definitive Series Part II
1994 – Cultural Heritage Pt1/Christmas
1995 – Decimalization/Coins & Stamps
1995 – Flowering Fruits Definitive Series Part III
1995 – Cultural Heritage Pt2
1995 – Parliament 375th Anniversary
1995 – Military Bases
1996 – Atlanta Olympic Games
1996 – Transportation/CAPEX ’96
1996 – Hamilton and St. George’s Panorama Paintings (ex-bklt) (10v)
1996 – Lighthouses
1996 – Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting
1996 – Architectural Heritage
1997 – Lighthouses/HONG KONG ’97
1997 – Birds
1997 – Golden Wedding Anniversary
1997 – Education
1998 – Diana, Princess of Wales Commemoration
1998 – Island Paintings
1998 – Hospitality/Tourism
1998 – Botanical Gardens
1998 – Christmas Bermuda Greetings*
1999 – Beaches Part I
1999 – Manned Moon Landing
1999 – Map Making
1999 – The Bermuda Postal Service
2000 – Pioneers of Progress* (s/3v)
2000 – Tall Ships
2000 – Royal Birthdays
2000 – Christmas
2001 – WWF Bird Conservation
2001 – Bird Conservation / HONG KONG 2001
2001 – Tourist Attractions/Historic Buildings
2001 – Boer War Centenary
2001 – Bermuda Aquarium Museum & Zoo*
2001 – C.Tucker/Paintings
2002 – Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee
2002 – Caves
2002 – Cricket Cup
2002 – Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Commemoration
2002 – Peace Day
2003 – Biological Research Station
2003 – Made in Bermuda Pt1
2003 – QEII 50th Anniversary of the Coronation
2003 – Cricket/CARICOM
2003 – Christmas Bermuda Greetings*
2004 – Naval Dockyard*
2004 – Made in Bermuda Part II*
2004 – WWF Endangered Species Bluefin Tuna
2004 – 50th Anniversary of the Bermuda Orchid Society
2005 – 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of Bermuda
2005 – Made in Bermuda Part III*
2005 – 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
2005 – Birds and Their Habitat
2005 – Christmas/Lights
2006 – Electric Light Company
2006 – The 80th Birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth II
2006 – WASHINGTON 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition
2006 – Made in Bermuda Pt4
2006 – Christmas/Advent Wreaths
2007 – Pioneers of Progress
2007 – Spirit of Bermuda/Ships
2007 – Jamestown Virginia/Ships
2007 – Centenary of World Scouting
2008 – Troubador Acts/Calypso Music
2008 – Perot Stamp Anniversary
2008 – Island Scenes (sa) (4v) (ex-bklt)
2008 – Pioneers of Progress Pt3
2008 – Beijing Olympic Games
2008 – Christmas Decorations
2009 – 400th Anniversary of Settlement
2009 – Man on Moon 40th Anniversary
2009 – 100th Anniversary Marathon Derby
2009 – Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge
2009 – Bermuda Theatre Boycott 1959
2009 – Christmas Bermuda Greetings Part VII
2010  – Girl Guides: 100 Years of Girlguiding
2010 – African Diaspora Heritage Trail
2010 – WWF Lined Seahorse
2010 – Pioneers of Progress – Dockyard Apprentices
2011 – QEII Lifetime of Service
2011 – Pioneers of Progress – Piloting
2011 – Bermuda Casemates
2011 – William & Catherine Royal Wedding (ss/4v)
2012 – QEII Diamond Jubilee Lifetime of Service
2012 – Postal Service 200th Anniversary
2012 – Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art 25th Anniversary
2012 – St. Peter’s Church Anniversary*
2013 – 60th Anniversary of Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
2013 – Bermuda Beaches Part II
2013 – Bermuda’s Folklife Part I: Gombeys
2013 – Bermuda Mystery Roses
2014 – Eastern Bluebird
2014 – Bermuda National Trust – National Treasures
2014 – Bermuda in Bloom
2014 – Bermuda Flora – Stamp Booklet – Zone 1
2014 – Bermuda Flora – Stamp Booklet – Zone 2
2015 – C.Lefroy Botanicals/Drawings/Flowers
2015 – Bermuda Regiment 50th Anniversary

*Denotes I have it and will publish soon.

As ever, this list in work in progress!