NEWFOUNDLAND 216 1933 5c TOKEN FROM QUEEN ELIZABETH I FROM GILBERT ISSUE VF MPH

Five cent, dull violet, "Token from Queen Elizabeth I" stamp from the issue of 1933, engraved, Coat of Arms watermark* - position 1 (see scans for detailed information concerning this watermark) . Comb perf 13.4x13.4 - listed as 13.5x13.5 in most catalogues. The 7c, 9c, 10c, 14c, 20c, 24c, and 32c values also exist perf 13.8x13.8 - typically listed as 14.0x14.0.  Approximately 30% of original gum disturbed by previous hinging, hinge remnant. Sound, fault-free example of this Newfoundland stamp. Stamp shown is a good representative of those that are available. If the stamp received fails to meet expectations, it may be returned for a replacement or full refund.

The 5c value features an image of the small gold anchor 'good luck' charm gifted to Gilbert by Queen Elizabeth I on the eve of his departure voyage in 1883. It is referred to in a letter from Sir Walter Raleigh written to his half-brother from the Court at Richmond in the year 1583 in the following terms: "I send you a token from her Majesty, an anchor guided by a lady as you see: and farther, her Highness willed me to sende you worde that she wished you a great good-hap and safety to your ship....". The 5c stamp was designed by Chilean born, British artist Louise Olga Mary Lehmann (1912- 2001).

Sir Humphrey Gilbert was an English adventurer, soldier, navigator and colonizer. Born in 1539 he was the half-brother to Sir Walter Raleigh, and was educated at Eton and Oxford with the intention of entering the law. In 1566 he petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for permission to seek the "Northwest" passage to the Orient. Finally after waiting for 12 years, he was granted a charter. He sold his estates to outfit this first expedition which unfortunately was unsuccessful. Despite the initial failure, by 1583 he had equipped another fleet of 5 ships (Raleigh, Delight, Golden Hind, Swallow and Squirrel) which sailed from Plymouth, England on June 11, 1583. After a voyage of nearly 2 months, he arrived off the present site of St. John's on August 3, 1583. Two days later he 'began the plantation of the first English Colony in North America'. Continuing further exploration to the south , he lost one of 3 ships near Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and on the homeward voyage to England, Sir Humphrey Gilbert drowned when his ship the "Squirrel" sank in a storm off the Azores.

The dies for the 14 stamps in the set were engraved, plates prepared and the stamps printed by Perkins Bacon for the contractors John Dickinson and Co.

*Note" Many people have assumed that the animal on the top of the Cost of Arms shield is either a caribou or a moose (both of which are quite common in Newfoundland). In the registered design granted in 1637 to the Colony of Newfoundland by Royal Letters Patent, the heraldic description for the Crest reads: "On a Wreath Or and Gules an Elk passant proper." (see attached article by Stanley C. Calder in BNATopics from October 1949) However, this still doesn't clear up the matter. Europeans refer to "elk" what North Americans call "moose". Moose became extinct in Great Britain 1,000s of years before the original Newfoundland Coat of Arms was designed and granted. Therefore it is not likely that the original designer used a "moose" as the model for the "Elk" on the shield. And since "caribou" were largely unknown to European royalty as well, just what was the animal used as a model for the Coat of Arms? In the British Isles, many people refer to some of the larger species of "deer" as "elk". This would probably be most particular to the royalty in reference to Red Deer and Fallow Deer held for their exclusive use on their country estates. Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans into southern England in the first century A.D. for hunting (a sport more or less reserved for nobility). The Fallow "deer" is the only species of deer other than moose with palmated antlers. I believe the animal shown on the Newfoundland Coat of Arms is neither a "moose", "caribou" or an "elk" but is in fact a Fallow "deer".