page_title: Admirals (philately)
section_title: Canada 1911-31 stamp issues
hierarchical_section_title: Admirals (philately) / Canada 1911-31 stamp issues
caption_attribution_description: English: Canadian Postage stamps, King George V "2 cents" overprints, 1926 issue, 2 varieties, red
context_page_description: In philately the Admirals are a series of definitive stamps issued by three countries of the British Commonwealth which show King George V, King of the Great Britain and the British Dominions. The stamps are referred to as the Admirals because King George is depicted in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform. The stamps were issued by Canada, New Zealand, and Rhodesia.
context_section_description: Of the three countries that issued postage stamps portraying King George in his Admiral uniform, The Admirals, Canada by far, has issued the most examples, issuing several different series over a period of more than eighteen years.
  George V succeeded Edward VII as King of England and the British Dominions on 6 May 1910, however postage stamps bearing his image were not issued until late in 1911. The ensuing period, lasting until 1928, has become one of the most studied areas of Canadian philately which is somewhat unusual because only one basic stamp design was in use. There were several reasons for this, one of which was Canada's involvement in World War I from 1914 to 1918. This resulted in  a scarcity of both engravers and the basic resources and materials needed to design and print postage stamps.  Changes in currency exchange rates and international postal rates after World War One resulted in the Canadian Post Office issuing new denominations, as well as a change in the stamp's colors. The unusually long issuing period required new dies and several plates to be struck, resulting in a large range of flaws and other varieties for a stamp collector to study. Philatelists have also studied the Admirals in great depth due to the large numbers of varieties of the stamps.
  On December 22, 1911, the first Canadian definitive stamps, the 1-cent and 2-cent denominations with a portrait of King George V, were issued and saw postal use for about 16 years, which was longer than any other definitives except for the Small Queens. The Admiral series is renowned for its multitude of re-entries and re-touches and like the Small Queen issue has the distinction of being one of the most extensively researched stamps issues by the Canadian government.
  First series, 1911–1931
  The first series of the King George V definitive stamp issues depict the monarch in profile, facing the viewers left, and were issued from 1911 to 1931 with 11 different denominations ranging from 1-cent to 1-dollar. The engraving of King George is modeled after two photographs by H. Walter Barnettby and the other by W. & D. Downey. The engraving was mastered by Robert Savage of the American Bank Note Company whose main base of operation was in New York but which also had printing facilities in Ottawa, Canada.  These issues are perforated 12 x 12. The 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 cent denominations were reprinted at later dates with different colors. Every denomination of the King George V issue were printed in panes of 200 and 400 stamps and cut into and issued in sheets of 100 stamps, or in booklet form with pages of 4 or 6 stamps. They were also released in coil form with three different perforation varieties and were first released in November, 1912. The last stamp issue of this series to be released was the 2-cent carmine issue which had the unusual perforations of 12 x 8 and was issued on June 24, 1931.
  War Tax stamp issues
  During World War I, Canada enacted the War Revenue Act of 1915. The Act created a 1¢ increase on all postage in the hopes that it would generate  $8,000,000 Dollars to help with Canada's war costs.  The War Tax stamp issues were released between April 15, 1915, and December 1916, the last issue being released in coil form. During World War I Canada was the first country to employ the use of War Tax designations on its postage stamp issues and to this end the King George V postage issue, which was already in use at this time, was modified and printed with a War Tax designation, with two different engraved designations on the 1 and 2 cent issues.  Like the regular Admiral issues, the war tax stamps were printed by the American Bank Note Company.
  1915 Overprints
  Another type of War Tax stamp was issued with the a War Tax designation overprinted across the face of the stamp, in black or red ink. War Tax overprints were used in other capacities. War taxes were also placed on wine and spirits. To confirm the payment of this tax the Inland Revenue Department overprinted the blue 5¢ Admiral stamp with the inscription Inland Revenue WAR TAX, overprinted diag
caption: King George V Overprints of 1926
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