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Cook Islands

Tuesday, April 19, 1892

New Zealand Territory 2

forgeries
Cook Is 1
  Cook Islands #1 xxx

Perforated 12½, no watermark, typography.
Printed by the New Zealand Government Printer.

Seal of the Cook Islands Administration
Description # issued Scott SG † Mi Y&T
1 penny black, toned paper
 22,870 1 1    
1 penny black, white paper
5    
1½ pence violet, toned paper
 16,460 2 2    
1½ pence violet, white paper
6    
2½ pence blue, toned paper
 14,640 3 3    
2½ pence blue, white paper
7    
10 pence carmine, toned paper
 6,230 4 4    
10 pence carmine, white paper
8    

† Gibbons lists the stamps as "toned or white paper".

Many more stamps were originally printed, but a large number were destroyed in November 1893.

The Cook Islands are a dependency of New Zealand.

Rarotonga SG56
Cook Islands SG175
Rarotonga
Independence
1919 Sc48 SG56 1965 Sc160 SG175

Scott [1] describes Cook Islands as, "Fifteen islands in Northern and Southern groups [that] extend over 850,000 square miles of ocean. Separate stamp issues used by Aitutaki (1903-32 and 1972 onward) and Penrhyn Islands (1902-32 and 1973 onward). Niue is included geographically, but administered separately. It continues to issue separate stamps."
From 1919 until 1935, stamps were issued in the name of Rarotonga, first NZ overprints and then inscribed stamps, but frm 1932, stamps inscribed Cook Islands were again used. The islands were granted self-government in 1965 and the commemorative includes a useful map.

Sources: ScS [1], SGP1.

Images from David Olson colnect, ebay.

FI ref: 278 Page credit: JA/NB

Page created 19 Feb 2014 Page updated 30-May-2017