The Guinea 1963 Red Cross Set was issued to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of its founding. Although most collectors focus on the British Commonwealth Omnibus issue these are a nice addition to that run.
The set comprised four regular stamps and an imperf mini sheet which was aimed at the collectors market. All the stamps are pretty much identical in design but are beautifully engraved and in the case of the stamp set easy to obtain either MNH or CTO used. Postally used stamps are a lot less common, and the mini sheet although not rare does cost a lot more than the stamp set.
The base set of four values are denominated 5f, 10f 15f & 25f and they were issued in sheets of 20. Full sheets turn up occasionally both UM & CTO used and make nice display items. All the values are perf 10.5 and in all our years of collecting we haven’t come across any variation to this.
Mini Sheet
The Mini Sheet only exists imperf and measures around 102mm x76mm making it album page friendly. At the time of writing (2022) the mini sheet is priced the same in both MHN & used in the main stamp catalogues, however, used ones are much harder to find and are usually taken from First Day Covers (FDC). A genuine postally used one would be worth a significant premium.
First Day Covers
Speaking of FDCs both the set and the mini sheet are available as such. The Mini Sheet is quite hard to find and expect to pay a substantial premium over the used price, especially for an unaddressed one on an illustrated cover.
Mini Sheet FDC
Guinea 1963 Red Cross Imperforate
The base set also exists imperforate and as plate proofs. These are quite rare and priced accordingly. They are more for the specialist or for those looking to compete in stamp exhibitions. Still if you are lucky enough to find them at a reasonable price they are worth picking up.
Rare Items & Commercial Covers.
As stated above postally used stamps are quite hard to find and those still attached to letters or postcards are even more so. If you ever find some on paper or part cover please keep them that way. Finally, if you really want to add the wow factor to a Guinea red Cross Collection hunt down the engraved Die Proofs.
Two states are known (to us anyway), sunken on Cream coloured glossy card or on stiff white paper. Both measure 115mm x 90mm and are the same colour as the issued stamps.
Before you go why not check out some more of our Thematic Collecting articles and you can learn more about the wonderful work the Red Cross does Here
