By 1924 the demand for two and three shilling stamps was high enough that it was worth producing new stamps rather than using 'Duty' stamps of those values. It was also decided to replace the one penny dominion with a new stamp as the plate needed replacing and the universal postage design had been in use for twenty-five years.

Prior Governor-General Viscount Jellicoe had been the commander of the British fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and so it was decided that the two and three shilling stamps would feature a portrait of King George V as Admiral of the Fleet. However, General Sir Charles Fergusson had succeeded Viscount Jellicoe as Governor-General and as he was a distinguished soldier and so the penny stamp depicts King George V in the uniform of a Field Marshall.