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Cayes of Belize
90th Anniversary of the First Postage Stamp
for Cayes of Belize

First Day Cover
First Day Cover with for issue commemorating the 90th
anniversary of the first stamps for Cayes of Belize.

Sydney Cuthbert was a general merchant in Belize City who had a residence on St. George's Caye. He commuted to his business on the first steam yacht to see use in the area. He was frequently asked to carry mail from the Caye to the post office and decided to charge for the service. In 1894 he produced a typewritten stamp inscribed "Caye Service 3 cents" in three lines.

The Cayes of Belize local issue was commemorated on November 5, 1984 with a special issue from Belize's postal authorities. These were four of the twenty-seven stamps for the "Cayes of Belize" issued in 1984 and 1985.

The October 1984 issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly announced the first issue for the Cayes of Belize noting that they are "a chain of several hundred islands, coral atolls, reefs and sandbanks stretching along the eastern seaboard of Belize." David Aggersberg notes that promotional material indicated that the area of the Cayes is 267 square miles but that no population was indicated. He further notes that Gibbons would only list the issues of the Cayes of Belize in its catalogue's appendix because it was not evident that "the Cayes represent a genuine political, historical or postal division within Belize." In his article "A Critical Look at Stamps from the Former British Colonies and Dependent Territories" Noel Davenhill comments, "The introduction of stamps for 'Cayes of Belize' in 1984 was thankfully short-lived, continuing for just one year. Following a long period of prolific issues, Belize deserves commendation for markedly reducing its output of new issues in recent years." 90th Anniversary Stamps


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The Cayes of Belize: a chain of several hundred islands, coral atolls, reefs and
sandbanks, covering 267 square miles, stretching along the eastern seaboard of Belize


Bibliography

Aggersberg, David. "Catalogue Column." Gibbons Stamp Monthly. October 1984: 95.

"Belize." Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 2008.

Davenhill, Noel. "A Critical Look at Stamps from the Former British Colonies and Dependent Territories." Gibbons Stamp Monthly. January 2007: 74.

King, E.W. A Postal History of Belize. Belmopan, Belize: private publication, 1981. Web. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00095455/00001


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