Fernão de Pó
Bud's Big BlueBud's Observations
Fernando Poo’s (FP) stamps generally have low CVs, as Jim observes elsewhere in this blog, but they’re hard to find. So, unless you’re desperate to fill BB’s spaces, don’t pay the high prices that some dealers ask. Wait for lower prices or an online auction that attracts little attention. It may take a while.
Mother Spain didn’t listen well to FP’s need for particular stamps, hence the 5 centimos overprints on many other denominations (see supplement). I’ve arranged the supplement stamps in Scott Catalog order, but haven’t studied them closely.
Which is correct -- Po or Poo? If you go with the stamps’ inscription, it’s Poo. If you favor the name of the first Portuguese navigator to visit the island, as BB does, it’s Po. If your FP collection has a forgery in it, it’s a shampoo. (Sorry).
Census: 23 in BB spaces, four tip-ins, 69 on supplement pages.
Jim's Observations
Fernando Po ( now Bioko) is an island located 20 miles of the west coast of Africa by Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea. The island was found by the Portuguese navigator Fernao do Po in 1472. The island is about 45 miles long by 20 miles across. The Capital then was Santa Isabel, and the population was 20,000 in 1930. Of interest, the island was inhabited by the Bubi ethnic group, which speak a Bantu dialect.
Fernando Po stamps definitely appear inexpensive, with 42% of all stamp issues <$1. BTW, all the inexpensive stamps, except for the 1929 issue, are of the "King Alfonso XIII" design types. But are they common in collections? No! Unless one specifically collects Spanish Colonies, which is unusual for a general WW classic collection, one will find not many of these "cheap" stamps around.
Fernando Po Blog Post and BB Checklist
Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination.)
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Supplements
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Comments appreciated!