The original announcement of the Funafuti Provisionals also referred to 2d stamps being used, but the existence of surcharges on 2d stamps is not documented anywhere. Similarly, Vernon lists a “2/- on 2d mint,” but it seems likely that this is a typing error for ld or 2½d.

[Editor’s note: The illustrations shown here are not the actual stamps, they are forgeries on genuine Gilbert and Ellice Islands stamps.]

There is some disagreement as to the quantities of each type that were prepared, but it seems safe to say that the total number of surcharges did not exceed 25. The list established by Vernon (including two items added in the supplement to the Handbooks comprises a total of 15 items (i.e., loose mint or used singles, and pieces with one or two used singles). However, because the list is based in part on reports that were not substantiated by illustrations, it may contain some duplication, as Vernon himself acknowledges. Nevertheless, it would seem that at least 13 items (including three pieces bearing two surcharged stamps, two of these pieces also showing the remnants of a customs parcel post label) existed at one time. I will return to the question of quantities later on.

There is general agreement that the surcharges are rather crude in appearance. The “2” or “3” was applied with a hand-made rubber handstand, while the “/-” is thought to have been added by hand in ink of the same colour as that of the numeral. Grumbridge reported in 1940, however, that one collector who had seen both 2-shilling types thought that the “/-” was part of the handstand. On the King George V stamp, the surcharge appears on both sides of the monarch’s head, while on the Pandanus stamp it appears only once, often towards the lower left portion of the stamp.

Most of the recorded copies of the surcharges are used singles or pairs on piece (sometimes with an unsurcharged stamp added), but the dates in the postmarks are generally illegible. Only one cover is known – a white envelope bearing a 3 sh. on 2½ d. and a 2 sh. on 2½ d., addressed in pencil to a ship's captain at Funafuti. It appears to have been postmarked on 17 July 1916, but there is some doubt that this envelope was ever carried by mail.

In addition to the mint and used copies that have been recorded, there exists at least one “essay” -- a 2½ d. stamp on which archive very faint red strikes of the figure “2” in the centre of the stamp, along with a clear strike of  “2/-” in black.

At least four items (one single stamp and three pieces bearing a total of five surcharged stamps) have received BPA certificates of authenticity. The pair of 2 sh. on 2½ d. shown here (cover illustration) once belonged to the famous Burrus collection.

Fig. 1 (next page): The 2 sh. on 2½ d. and 3sh. On 2½ d. Funafuti Provisionals tied to a piece. A portion of the parcel label can be seen. Although the year (1916) can be seen in the postmark, the day and month are too faint to be deciphered.