IM-SG-36
| Stamp image | 
|
|---|---|
| Identifier | IM-SG-36 |
| Country | Isle of Man |
| Country code | IM |
| Catalogue | Stanley Gibbons |
| Catalogue number | 36 |
| Variant | |
| Issue title | Centenary of Steam Railway |
| Date of issue | 4 August 1973 |
| Withdrawal or invalidation date | 3 August 1974 (withdrawn from sale) |
| Quantity sold | 808,173 |
| Face value | 3p |
| Subject or design | MNR No. 4 Caledonia, 1885 |
| Stamp type | Commemorative stamp |
| Stamp subtype | Anniversary |
| Format | Stamp |
| Designer or artist | J. H. Nicholson, R.I. |
| Printer | Harrison & Sons (High Wycombe) Ltd. |
| Printing process | Photogravure |
| Colour | Multicoloured; five colours |
| Dimensions | |
| Perforation | 15 × 14 |
| Watermark | |
| Paper or gum | White postage stamp paper with Harrison & Sons coating; PVA adhesive |
| Other catalogue references | |
| Associated FDC or issue pages | Official cover Cotswold cover Mercury cover Stuart cover |
| Notes | Issued in sheets of 50 (catalogue notation: 5 × 10). Cylinder numbers: 1A (each ×5). The image shows the stamp on the owned first day cover. |
IM-SG-36 is the 3p stamp in the Isle of Man's Centenary of Steam Railway issue, released on 4 August 1973. The design depicts MNR No. 4 Caledonia, 1885.[1]
Locomotive
Caledonia was originally No. 4 of the Manx Northern Railway. It later became No. 15 of the Isle of Man Railway, which explains its listing under No. 15 Caledonia in the locomotive article.[2]
The accompanying information card describes an 0-6-0 side-tank locomotive built by Dubs and Company in 1885 for the Manx Northern Railway. It records that Caledonia was built to work the Foxdale coal trains and explains its renumbering from 4 to 15.[3]
Design and production
The stamp was designed by J. H. Nicholson, R.I., and printed by Harrison & Sons (High Wycombe) Ltd. using photogravure. The information card records five colours, white postage stamp paper with Harrison & Sons coating, and PVA adhesive.[3]
Perforation is 15 × 14. Stanley Gibbons records sheets of 50 (5 × 10) and cylinder numbers 1A (each ×5).[1]
Sales and withdrawal
Stanley Gibbons records a quantity sold of 808,173 stamps. The stamp was withdrawn from sale on 3 August 1974.[1]
First day covers
Stanley Gibbons lists a first day cover for the issue.[1]
The collection holds the official cover. The illustrated stamp is a detail from that owned cover, cancelled at Douglas on 4 August 1973.
Three commercial cover versions have been identified from eBay reference photographs and are wanted for the collection:
- Cotswold cover — Sutherland locomotive beneath a CENTENARY heading.
- Mercury cover — island outline, railway routes and a locomotive.
- Stuart cover — locomotive, island map and Manx three-legs shield.
The individual cover pages document the photographs used for identification. These commercial versions are not separately identified in the cited Stanley Gibbons entry.
Related stamps
- IM-SG-35 — 2½p; No. 1 Sutherland, 1873
- IM-SG-37 — 7½p; No. 13 Kissack, 1910
- IM-SG-38 — 9p; No. 3 Pender, 1873
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man.p. 199.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 36.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood.
- ↑ “Manx Northern Railway — Locomotives”. Wikipedia. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Isle of Man Railway(Information card).Reference: Front scan; reverse scan.Double-sided information card accompanying the owned official first day cover. The stamp issue date is printed as 4 August 1973; a separate publication date is not given.
