Bahamas - Bud's Big Blue

Bahamas in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue
Bud;'s Observations

Six of BB’s Bahamian selections have the country’s Latin motto inscribed: expulsis piratis restituta commercia (page 1, rows 3 and 4- Scan 1b). These words hark back to Blackbeard’s reign of terror in the 17^th and 18^th centuries when the Caribbean was a haven for pirates, cheats, murderers, debauchees and thieves. My very loose translation: getting rid of crooks is good for business. 

The Bahamas changed the motto in the 1970s to read “Forward Upward Onward Together.” Given the current crime rate in The Bahamas, they might do well to reinstate the old motto.

I would have thought, by now, The Bahamas would have honored Blackbeard with a stamp. But St. Kitts and Nevis beat them to it (1973).

I particularly like the earliest stamps with Queen Victoria and the 1935/38 "flamingos in flight". Stamps featuring stair cases are generally uncommon, but not in The Bahamas (page 1, row 3). These 66 steps, cut of solid limestone, rise from the city of Nassau to Fort Fincastle, built in 1793 as a defense against pirates.

Census: 52 in BB spaces, four tip-ins, eleven on supplement pages

Jim's Observations
No real bargains among the stamps of the Bahamas, as one would expect. The combined popularity of a warm island destination and a British Crown Colony makes for expensive choices. I am still looking for 13 stamps for Big Blue at this time.

Bahamas Blog Post and Checklist

Page 1 (Note: click and enlarge for examination)

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1b

1c

Page 2

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2c

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