Cape of Good Hope

"Hope" Seated One Penny

Quick History
Located on the very southern part of South Africa, the Capital is Cape Town, and the population was 2,500,000 in 1911. Cape of Good Hope, together with Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony, formed the Union of South Africa in 1910. The Dutch East Indian Company were first in the area when in 1795 the British used Cape Town as a naval base. The British subsequently obtained possession of the area by the Treaty of Vienna in 1814, as the Dutch had been allies of Napoleon. In 1836, the Dutch Boer farmers moved- known as the "Great Trek"- north of the Orange River because of the British abolition of slavery. In 1871, Cape Colony added Griqualand West, and in 1877 part of Transvaal. Finally, British Bechuanaland was absorbed in the 1890's. The Dutch Boers were defeated in the South African War, and the colonies were united in 1910.
Cape of Good Hope began issuing stamps in 1853; "Hope" Seated- the world's first triangular stamps.

Apocryphal?:  Supposedly, the Triangular stamps were produced so that post office sorters could quickly distinguish outgoing from incoming mail.

Place the Scott 57 2 1/2 ultra in the row with the differently designed 1/2p yellow green and it's siblings; the 1892  2 1/2p "illustration" below is reserved for the Scott 56  2 1/2p sage green.

Big Blue Picture
Big Blue '97 has, on one page, 30 stamp spaces, including two triangular spaces. The 2011 Scott Classic Specialized catalogue has 68 major stamp descriptions. Coverage by Big Blue is 44%.

Who doesn't dream of having Cape of Good Hope Triangular stamp in their collection? For that reason alone, collecting classic worldwide in Big Blue is GREAT. Except for the high cost of the Triangulars, the rest of the Cape of Good Hope's Big Blue stamp selection is quite reasonable cost wise indeed.

There are  two cautionary tales I will mention here in placing the Colony's stamps in Big Blue's Album. Be aware that the A13 design Scott 57 2 1/2 ultramarine is placed in the 1896-98 "Hope" Seated  row with all the differently A6 designed stamps. Big Blue gives no indication that one should do that. See the illustration above. The "obvious place to put the stamp"-the 1892 2 1/2p illustration cut below the row- is NOT where the stamp is placed. That space is reserved for Scott 56 2 1/2p sage green.

The second cautionary tale is from personal experience. I was ready to put-what looked like to me a nice chocolate brown  2p- in the 1896-98 "Hope" Seated row. See illustration below. I noticed it should have a watermark 16- an "anchor" (which by the way is quite easy to see with the Cape stamps usually-just turn the stamp over on a dark background). Image my surprise when it was watermark 2 - the Crown and C A. So this stamp was a 1864-87 Scott 35 2p "bister"! Probably a 35a color variation- "deep bister". I've lost some confidence in my ability to categorize by color. So even though Big Blue does not require- or even encourage-watermarking; it's a very good idea! :-)

Additional Cape stamps to consider for the Big Blue collector......
1853-64 Imperf (Triangulars) "Hope" Seated (For those who dream)
Other choices listed in the Checklist, and...
1858 Scott 5 6p pale lilac($230+)
1858 Scott 6 1sh yellow green ($220+)
1863-64 Scott 14 6p purple ($290+)

1864-87 "Hope" Seated
Other choices listed in the Checklist.

1879 Red surcharge
29($2+)

1880 Surcharge
30,32($2+)

1882 Surcharge
40($5+)

1896-98 "Hope" Seated
49,50,(<$1)
51($5+)

 The Two Pence is a Scott 35a 2p "deep bister" with watermark 2 (Crown and CA) rather than the Scott 45 "chocolate brown" with watermark 16 (Anchor)

Big Blue Checklist
1853-64 Imperf (Triangulars) "Hope" Seated
One penny (Illustrated)
1863-64 Scott 12 1p dark carmine ($210 Mint) or 1853 Scott 1 1p brick red/bluish paper ($230+) or 1855-58 Scott 3 1p rose/white paper ($230+) or "wood block" 1861 Scott 7 1p vermilion ($2,600+)

Four penny "blue" (designated)
1855-58 Scott 4 4p blue ($60)
Note: because of designated color, BB's only strictly correct choice; but other 4p issues include the 1863-64 Scott 13 4p dark blue ($60+), 1853 Scott 2 4p deep blue/lightly blued paper($120+), or "wood block" 1861 Scott 9 4p milky blue ($3000+).

1864-87 "Hope" Seated
1/2p (illustrated)
41 1/2p gray black($1+) or 33 1/2p gray black($2+) or 23 1/2p gray black ($10+)

1p "rose": 16(<$1) or 43(<$1) or 34($2+)
2p "bister": 44(<$1) or 35($1+)
3p "claret": 36($1+) or 26($2+)
4p "blue": 27(<$1) or 17($2+) Note: Scott 47(<$1), a '90 issue, ruled out for date.
6p "bright violet": 37($1) or 18($1+) Note: Scott 49(<$1) "violet" color ruled out.
1s "yellow green": 19($4+) Note: Scott 51($5+) is ruled out for date ('94) and color (blue green).
Note: stamp spaces include 1864-65 Scott 16-18 wmk 1; 1871-81 Scott 23-27 No Frame Line around stamp; 1882-83 Scott 33-37 wmk 2; 1884-86 Scott 41-44 wmk 16-anchor.
Note: I included the "No Frame Line around stamp" 1871-81 Scott 23-27 as choices, although the "illustrated" cut in BB shows (I believe) the Frame line. If you don't agree, remove these choices.

1896-98 "Hope" Seated
1/2p "green" Scott 42 (<$1) Note: "yellow green" in Scott
2p "chocolate brown" Scott 45($1+)
2 1/2p "ultramarine" Scott 57 (<$1) Note: Caution! Different design (A13) than others in the row(A6)-see Big Blue Picture for discussion.
3p "red violet" Scott 46 ($1+)
4p pale olive green Scott 48($2+)
1s yellow buff Scott 52 ($2+)

1891 Surcharge
55(<$1)

1892 "Hope" Seated (A13 design)
2 1/2p Scott 56 sage green(<$1)
Note: the other A13 design, the 2 1/2p Scott 57 ultramarine(<$1) is put in the designated "2 1/2p ultra" space in the row above; the 1896-98 "Hope" Seated row: see Big Blue Picture for discussion.

1893 Surcharge
58(<$1)

1900 Table Mountain and Bay;Coat of Arms
62(<$1)

1896-1902 "Hope" Standing
59,60,(<$1)
61($2+)

1902-04 King Edward VII
63,64,65,66($2+),67($1+),68,69,70($1+) (<$1 except noted)

"Hope" Standing

Kinds of Blue
The '97 and '69 editions are identical.
The '41 and '47 are also identical to the "69 and ''97 for content.
However, The '69 and '97 editions have a color change for two stamp spaces compared to the '47 and '41 editions.
Specifically the 1864-87 "Hope" Seated Issue..
6p Scott 18 and 37 "bright violet" in '97,'69, and 2011 and 1947 Scott catalogues is "violet" in '47 and '41 editions.
1s Scott 19 "yellow green" in '97,'69, and 2011 and 1947 Scott catalogues is "green" in
'47 and '41 editions.
Obviously, Scott changed the colors in the catalogue for these stamps sometime prior to 1947, and Big Blue then changed the color listing sometime later: certainly by 1969.

Big Blue Bottom Line
We have a new leader in the "Most Expensive stamp in Big Blue" list: the iconic Cape of Good Hope triangular design 1863-64 Scott 12 1p dark carmine ($210 Mint). What a gorgeous stamp!

Note: You will need to consult a Scott catalogue for specific pricing. I only give a very "ball park" price, and never the actual catalogue value.
<$1= less than a Dollar
$1+= more than a Dollar
$2+= more than two Dollars
$5+= more than five Dollars
$10+= more than ten Dollars
$20+..and so on.