British Malaya Security Markings

PERFINS

Updated:	23 Sept. 2010
Newest Additions:	ALL NEW
Total:	95

NOTE:

Images with a red boarder are used with the kind permission of Mervyn Lavender and are from his book: PERFINS OF MALAYSIA [See here].
On 15 February 1942, Singapore surrendered to the Japanese Army and most business closed their doors. Many firms did not reopening after Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945. On 5 September 1945, British troops returned to Singapore and a British Military Administration [BMA] was formed to govern the Straits Settlements until March 1946.
Earliest & Latest Dates should be taken as estimates in most cases.

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. Corrections, suggestions, images etc. welcomed.

#	Image	Pattern	Holes	Company	Stamps	Earliest	Latest	Remarks
A00		A.A.A & Co.	32 + 28	HELP!! UNIDENTIFIED Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1923	?	One known on SG231 see ML
A01		A C	18	A. Clouet & Co.	Straits	1903	1926	.
A02		A.G & Co. LTD	21+28+19	Adamson Gilfillan & Co.	Straits	1908	?	One known on SG155 see ML
A03		A.G	21	Adamson Gilfillan & Co.	Straits	1912	1923	Likely type A2 with "& Co./LTD" removed
A04		APC	38	Asiatic Petroleum Co.	Straits	1913	?	.
A05		A.P.C	29	Asiatic Petroleum Co.	Straits	1920	1942	C has rounded back
A6	image required	A.P.C	29	Asiatic Petroleum Co.	Selangor	1935	1942	C has kinked back
	image required	A.P.C	29	Asiatic Petroleum Co.	Straits	1937	?	as A6 used. On known on a Straits SG275
A7		A.P.C S	30+10	Asiatic Petroleum Co.	Straits	1908	1911	.
B01		B&Co	43	Boustead & Co	Singapore	1884	1942	no stop under the o
B2	image required	B&Co.	41	Boustead & Co.	Penang	1884	1922	stop under the o
B3a		B&Co.	43	Boustead & Co.	Penang	1922	1942	stop under the o
B3b	image required	B&Co.	57	Boustead & Co.	?	ca1880	?	Two known on SG39 & 42 see ML
B4a	image required	B&Co LTD	40+18	Boustead & Co.	FMS	1922	?	see ML
B4b	image required	B&Co LTD	40+18	Boustead & Co.	Selangor	1935	1942	see ML
B5	image required	B&Co LTD	42+18	Boustead & Co	Tumpat	1920	1927	on Kelantan see ML
B6	image required	B&Co LTD	42+18	Boustead & Co	Ipoh	1941	?	on Perak see ML
B7		B&Co. S	40+14	Barlow & Co.	Straits	1885	1909	stop under the o
B08		B.C.L	30	Borneo Co. Ltd.	Straits	1895	1932	.
??	check it out	B.C.L???	?	Borneo Co. Ltd.	Straits	.	.	o inside C
B09		B&K	36	Boyd & Kaye	Straits	1918	1922	.
B10		B.M &Co..	31+35	Behn Meyer & Co.	Straits	1879	1904	2 stops under the o
B11		B.M.C.	49	Behn Meyer & Co.	Straits	1905	1914	B = 6 holes tall, seems to have replaced B10
B12	image required	B.M.C.	57	Behn Meyer & Co.	Penang	1903	1914	B = 7 holes tall
B13		B S Co.	24+17	Likely Borneo, Sumatra Trading Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1925	1940	.
C1a	image required	CANCELLED	88	Likely P & O Banking Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Perak	?	?	56mm or 66mm long. One known on a SG119 see ML [note]
C1b	image required	CANCELLED	88	Likely P & O Banking Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1923	1942	56mm or 66mm long see ML [note]
C2		C.B.I.	30	Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China	Straits	1903	1910	stop after the I
C3	image required	C.B.I	31	Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China	Straits	1913	1925	no stop after the I, often pins are missing
C4		C B I	26	Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China	Penang	1921	1942	no stops, I = 5 holes
C5	image required	C B I	26	Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China	Selangor	1906	1930	no stops, I = 5 holes
C6	image required	C B I	22	Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China	Selangor	1945	1955	no stops, I = 4 holes
C7	image required	C.C.	28	Cadonau & Co.	Straits	1899	1906	each C has an addition stop upper right corner
C8		C.C	21	Cadonau & Co.	Straits	?	?	one stop only
C9a	image required	C C G T	14+15	City Council, Georgetown	Penang	1955	1975	on Penang and Malaysian stamps
C10	image required	CCP	26	?	?	?	?	On known on a Malaysia SG1 see ML
D01		D A B	28+16	Deutsche Asiatische Bank	Straits	1905	1915	only PERFIN with serifs
D02		D.B.&Co.	54	D. Brandt & Co.	Straits	1886	1914	on the diagonal, stop under the o
E01		E.A.C.	43	East Asiatic Co.	Straits	1902	1932	C has an addition stop in its upper right corner
E2		E S Co LD	20+26	Eastern Smelting Co. Ltd.	Penang	1910	1920	small o and D aligned with top of the C and L image from Wai Kit Ng (John)
F1	image required	F&Co	38	Fraser & Co.	Straits	1910	?	stop above the o
F2		F&N	29	Fraser & Neave	Straits	1922	1935	top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line
G1		G&Co.	38	Guthrie & Co.	Straits	1898	1920	stop under the o
G2	image required	G&Co. LD	38+14.	Guthrie & Co.	Penang	1906	1915	stop under the o, small D level with top of L
G3		G.E.L	29	Great Eastern Assurance Co. Ltd.	Straits	1908	1942	no stop after the L
G4	image required	G E L	18+6	Great Eastern Assurance Co. Ltd.	Straits	1962	?	.
H1		H&Co. S	42+13	Hooglandt & Co.	Straits	1882	1894	stop under the o image from Mari Heessels
H2	image required	H& S.B.C.	24+35	Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation	Penang	1885	1920	no stop after the H
H3		H B &Co	26+26	Huttenbach Bros. & Co.	Straits	1890	1925	H 5 holes high, top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line, o aligned with top of C
H4	image required	H B &Co	21+23	Huttenbach Bros. & Co. or Harison Baker & Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Selangor	1935	1942	H 4 holes high, top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line, o aligned with top of C
H5		HBCo P	38+10	Huttenbach Bros. & Co.	Penang	1885	1920	o aligned with top of C
H6		H . J & Co..	18+30	Herman Jebson & Co.	Penang	1882	1894	Click to see a cover. two stops under o, a stop midway between the H & J
H7		H S B	31	Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation	Straits	1890	1917	.
H8		H S B C	22+21	Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation	Straits	1918	1942	know with postmarks of Malacca, Penang & Perak. Stamps are thought perfinned in Singapore and shipped to the States.
H8a	image required	H S B C	21+22	Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation	Straits	1917	?	One known on SG128 see ML
I1		I. R	25	International Crediet-en Handels Vereeniging	Straits	1908	1911	Rotterdam Trading Co., no stop after the R
J1		J L & Co	15+28	John Little & Co. Ltd.	Straits	1885	1890	o aligned with top of C
J2		JL&Co +	40+5	John Little & Co. Ltd.	Straits	1890	1930	o aligned with top of C, cross of five holes
K1		K&W	40	Kelly & Walsh	Straits	1896	1903	.
K2		K.D. K.	35+17	Kaiserlich Deutsches Konsulat	Straits	1902	1914	.
L1		L P L	17+7	Lee Plantations Ltd.	Straits	1919	1937	.
L2a		L Y S	25	L.Y. Swee & Co.	Penang	1922	1957	on stamps of SS, BMA & Penang
L2b		ml ? ? come back
M1	image required	M	M=24 square = 33	Companie des Services Messageries Maritime	Straits	1906	?	in a square. M with serifs
M2	image required	M	24	Companie des Services Messageries Maritime	Straits	1907	1910	same as M1 but without the square
M3	image required	M & Co.	15+28	possibly Maynard & Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1902	?	stop under the o. One known on a SG114 see ML
M4		MBI	34	Mercantile Bank of India Ltd.	Straits	1894	1925	top 3 holes of the B are not in a straight line
M5	image required	MBI	34	Mercantile Bank of India Ltd.	Selangor	1910	1925	top 3 holes of the B are in a straight line
M6		M.B.K	40	Mitsui Bussan Kaisha	Straits	1912	?	no stop after the K
M7	image required	Mc.A&Co. LD.	60+15	McAlister & Co. Ltd.	Straits	1902	1922	stop under the c of Mc, o and D
M8		Mc A & Co LTD	32+26+28	McAlister & Co. Ltd.	Straits	1920	1925	o and TD are small & aligned with top of other larger letters
M9	image required	Mc A & Co.	33+28	McAlister & Co.	Straits	1916	1926	stop under o
M10		Mc A Co	26+11	McAlister & Co. Ltd.	Straits	1928	?	c and o small & aligned with top of the larger letters
M11	image required	MC M	23+15	Municipal Commissioners Malacca	Malacca	1954	?	One known on a SG27 see ML
M12		M C P	23+10	Municipal Commissioners Penang	Penang	1910	1940	.
M13a	image required	M C P	33	Municipal Commissioners Penang	Penang	1940	?	Straits
M13b	image required	M C P	33	Municipal Commissioners Penang	Penang	1945	1948	BMA
M13c	image required	M C P	33	Municipal Commissioners Penang	Penang	1949	1960	Penang
N1		N C I	26	North China Insurance Co.	Straits	1903	1920	.
N2		NHM	46	Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij	Straits	1906	1934	H formed on the N & M. Netherlands Trading Society
O1a	image required	ORI ENT AL	25+30+17 [+ 2 large]	Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Co.	Selangor	1926	1936	on FMS & Selangor. Two large holes, 1 in the O & 1 after the L
O1b	image required	ORI ENT AL	25+30+17	Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Co.	Selangor	1935	1936	Same as O1a less the 2 large holes.
P1	image required	P & O Co.	33+15	Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.	Straits	1930	1936	stop under o of Co
P2	image required	P. C	21	Likely Puttfarcken & Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1890	?	no stop after the C. One know on a SG53 see ML
P3	image required	P R H	18+9	HELP!! UNIDENTIFIED Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Ipoh, Perak	1938	?	Three known on SG90, 106 & 109 see ML
P4		P S & Co	20+26	Paterson, Simons & Co.	Straits	1904	1921	top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line, small o aligned with top of C
R1		RS&C	47	Rautenberg Schmidt & Co.	Straits	1879	1900	.
R2	image required	R. S. C.	25+9	Rautenberg Schmidt & Co.	Straits	1900	1905	.
S1a	image required	S&Co.	38	HELP!! UNIDENTIFIED Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	?	?	on the diagonal. On known on SG68. See ML
S1b	image required	S . B &Co	23+30	Sandilands Buttery & Co.	Straits	1880	?	top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line, small o aligned with top of C. Stop midway between S & B.
S2	image required	S. B. Co.	26 + 15	Sandilands Buttery & Co.	Straits	1908	1930	stop under o
S3a	image required	SHELL	40	Shell Oil Co.	BMA	1945	1950	on the diagonal
S3b	image required	SHELL	40	Shell Oil Co.	Straits	1948	1950	on the diagonal
S4	image required	S I T	19	Singapore Improvement Trust	Straits	1950	1974	.
S5		SK&C	46	Schmidt, Küstermann & Co.	Penang	1880	1890	.
S6		S.K. C.	28+13	Schmidt, Küstermann & Co.	Penang	1900	1910	C has an addition stop in its upper right corner
S7a		SMC	34	Singapore Municipal Commissioners	Straits	1922	1947	.
S7b	image required	SMC	34	Singapore Municipal Commissioners	BMA	1945	1947	One known on a SG4. See ML
S8a		S M C	9+18	Singapore Municipal Commissioners	Straits	1947	1974	.
S8b	image required	S M C	9+18	Singapore Municipal Commissioners	Malaysia	1964	?	One known on a SG11. See ML
S9		S.M.N	41	Stoomvaart Maataschappij Nederland	Straits	1915	1942	No stop after the N.
S10a		S.T.C.	29	Straits Trading Co.	Straits	1906	1942	.
S10b	image required	S.T.C.	29	Straits Trading Co.	FMS	1906	1942	.
S11	image required	S.T.Co.	40	Straits Trading Co.	Perak	1904	1922	Stop under the o.
T1		T C & S	15+24	Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd	Straits	1920	1942	.
T02		TKK	32	Tan Kah Kee	Straits	1920	1935	.
V1		V. B.	34	HELP!! UNIDENTIFIED Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	Straits	1922	?	One known on a SG232. See ML
W1		W & Co	28+12	HELP!! Waugh & Co. or Whittall & Co. Do you have a scan of a proving cover? Please contact me, click here.	FMS	1919	1935	top of the & consists of 3 holes in a horizontal line, small o aligned with top of C
W2		W.M &Co.	31+17	W. Mansfield & Co.	Straits	1900	1922	stop under o, no stop after the M
W3	image required	WH & Co.	?	William Hall & Co.	Penang	1880	?	stop under o, only on revenue stamps
Y01		Y S B	18+15	Yokohama Specie Bank	Straits	1928	1942	.

History:

1826 Singapore, Penang & Malacca become the Straits Settlements, ruled from India
1 April 1867, the Straits Settlements become a Crown colony administered from Singapore
15 February 1942, Singapore surrendered to Japanese Army on
15 August 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies on
5 September 1945, British troops returned to Singapore and a British Military Administration [BMA] was formed to govern the Straits Settlements until March 1946.
1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony.
16 September 1963, Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were formally merged and Malaysia was formed.
9 August 1965, Singapore separated from Malaysia and became the Republic of Singapore.
1965 October - Singapore becomes the 22nd member of the Commonwealth.

See Time line of Singaporean history here.

Stamps:

On 1 February 1823, the civilian post office opened at Singapore.
Indian stamps were used from 1854 to 1 September 1867 in Malacca, Singapore and Penang when the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony.
1856 the octagonal Indian type cancellers began being used: B/109 for Malacca, B/147 for Penang and B/172 for Singapore.
On 1 April 1877 the Straits Settlements joined the Universal Postal Union [U.P.U.]
Stamps overprinted "British Military Administration" [B.M.A.] were used from 1945 to 1948 throughout the Malayan States.

Straits Settlements:

Malacca, Singapore [along with Christmas Island] and Penang [along with Province Wellesley and until 1934 The Dindings] were incorporated under one government in 1826 with the governor was located at Penang.
In 1836 the seat of government was transferred to Singapore.
Administration was transferred from India to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on 1 April 1867 when the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony.
The Cocos [Keeling] Islands were transferred to the Straits Settlements on 7 February 1886. Labuan was attached to the Crown Colony in 1898 becoming the fourth settlement in 1906. Labuan was transferred to North Borneo in 1946.
The Crown Colony was dissolved in 1946.

Singapore:

In 1946 Singapore became a separate colony.

Malayan Union:

In 1946 Penang and Malacca were incorporated into the Malayan Union.

Federation of Malaya:

was formed in 1948 out of the Malayan Union.