myStampJourney

Established by the British Government in 1896, the Federated Malay States (FMS) comprised of four independent Malay states: Selangor, Negri Sembilan (Negeri Sembilan), Pahang, and Perak with Kuala Lumpur as the designated administrative capital. The flag of the FMS consisted of stripes of white, red, yellow, and black from top to bottom - in the same order as mentioned - with a leaping Malayan Tiger in the middle. The stripes represented all the states of FMS.  The reason of merging these four protected states mostly, if not, majorly gravitate around the need to secure, safeguard, and strengthen commercial interests. Local administrators strongly opted for the establishment of FMS since their economic motives could be quickly realized. Going deeper into this subject would result in writing (and ranting) more hence let me just quote a few references used at the end of this post.  Flag of the FMS This article will feature just the earlier issues (1891 or 1892) of leaping tigers in these

The general issue of the Malayan Federation are four denominations: 6c, 12c, 25c and 30c that are all multicolored issued on 5th May 1957.  General Issue of Malayan Federation Clockwise from the top left, they are listed as ISC 1-4. In the same catalogue, varieties are majorly colors with the exception for 12c, which I have yet to come across.  Known varieties and shades of the 1957 General Issue.  On the first row are three known shades of the 6c: i. Deep-blue, red, yellow, & grey-blue (ISC1); ii. Indigo, red, yellow, & grey-blue (ISC1b); and iii. Indigo, red, yellow, & slate-blue (ISC1c). On the second row, somewhat interesting, yet unconfirmed is what I believe to be an offset of the red dye on the gum.  Nothing peculiar on the 12c of the third row, that is just a normal piece. Next to it is an irregularity of the 25c, in which it should have appear in shades of maroon just like the three stamps arranged on the fourth row. It seems to be a shade of mauve to violet (?). 

As listed on ISC, there are several notable shades for some denominations (well, there are just 6 to be honest). Since I do not own any specialized catalogues for North Borneo, I guess the references listed on ISC would do just for now.  An overview of all the listed shades 1 cent Red-brown (left) and Lake-brown (right) The 1 cent Red-brown (listed as ISC336) appears with a reddish to rosy-looking sky while the Lake-brown (listed as ISC336a) has a flat brown look. The foliage in the foreground of ISC336a appears brighter. Generally, the features of both Mount Kinabalu and its foreground are more visible.  3 cents Green (left) and Deep Green (right) The 3 cents Deep Green (listed as ISC338a) appears more intense compared to the 3 cents Green (ISC338). ISC338 definitely looks grainier while ISc338 appears to have a smoother look - compare the portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. In person, it is fairly easy to distinguish between the two.  15 cents Bright blue (left) and Pale blue (right) Th