Big Blue 1840-1940: Tonga - Bud's Big Blue

1886-95 Tonga in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)

Jim's Observations

The Kingdom of Tonga archipelago consists of 169 islands (36 inhabited) in the south Pacific Ocean, which stretches for 500 miles in a N/S line, south of Samoa. Most of the population (70%) reside on Tongatapu.

Captain James Cook in 1773 named them the "Friendly Islands", because of his warm reception there. (Actually, the Tongan Chiefs wanted to kill him, but disputed the exact mode.

The Tongans are Polynesian, and the native language of Tonga is related to the similar Polynesian languages found in Niue, Samoa, and Hawaii. Now, the other official language is English.

Tonga became a constitutional monarchy under King George Tupou I (Siaosi), in 1875. The King was aided by a Methodist Wesleyan trained missionary named Shirley Waldemar Baker, who subsequently became the King's prime minister (1881-1890), and founded the independent "Free Church of Tonga".

Stamps were issued with a King George I visage in 1886.

Tonga became a British Protectorate in 1900 under a Treaty of Friendship. Tonga, however, maintained its sovereignty, and the Tongan monarchy continues to this day (Now Tupou VI). In contrast, Tahiti and Hawaii lost their monarchical rule.

The capital was and is Nuku'alofa, and the population was 20,000 in 1901, and 34,000 in 1939.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Tonga 1886-1951, 109 major number descriptions. Of those, 28 are CV <$1-$1+, or 26%. Raising the CV bar to $4+ yields 48, or 44%. As a British protectorate, Tonga stamps can be moderately expensive to expensive for a nicer collection.

Big Blue '69, on one page, has 27 spaces for the stamps of 1886-1938 Tonga. Eliminating post 1940 catalogue numbers (27), the coverage is 33%.

The 40s BB editions spaces are arranged differently, and have 30 spaces (One additional blank space for the 1886 issue, another additional blank space for the 1895 issue, and a space for the 1934 1/2p green).

There are five stamp spaces that are "expensive" (CV $10+-$20+) in BB for Tonga. These stamps are listed in the "Comments" section following the checklist.

BB has spaces for the 1897 issue and the 1920 issue that are Wmk 79 "Turtles". The 1942 issue (Wmk 4) have similar stamps.

For more on Tonga, click on the link below.

Tonga Blog Post & BB Checklist

Page 1