Most internet searches only reveal a St Hilary who was a Fourth Century Bishop of Poitiers in France. Cinderella philatelists however will be more familiar with the female St Hilary, the Patron Saint of Patience.

Where did the inspiration for the stamps come from? There are a number of theories. There is a clue in the design. St Hilary seems to be placing a blue triangular stamp into a small brown envelope. What is certain is that these stamps became available to collectors in 2008, originally just the 1p stamp, and then followed by the slightly larger 2p stamp. Just sheets were issued.

The 1p sheet held three variant stamps, with St Hilary wearing lipstick in one, giving a wink in another, and giving an even more un-saintly two-fingered gesture in the third. One stamp on the sheet was inverted.
The 2p stamps abounded with variations. There were degrees of blurring of the text, mirrored effects, a slipped halo, a missing or blank stamp, and so on. Only a careful examination of the sheet will reveal all, and which stamps are in fact the normal ones present (if there actually is a normal stamp there).

What to look for in this issue?

• Complete sheets
• All the variations - check and check again before you trade spares!

Note: There is still debate as to which St Hilary the eponymous village in Cornwall is named after.