The Bomba heads weren’t around for very long. They were first put on sale in January 1859. By the middle of the following year, Garibaldi led a popular revolt that swept away the Bourbon monarchy of Sicily and pulled it into a united Italy. The Sicilian stamps were immediately withdrawn.
The stamps were issued in seven denominations. They are seen as some of the finest stamp engravings ever made. They were engraved by Tommaso Aloysio Juvara and have a wonderfully balanced design and the colours are extremely attractive.
They depict King Ferdinand II, who was known as ‘Bomba’ because he put down a revolt in 1848 with a five day bombardment of Messina.
The stamps are highly collectable. Although there are only seven values, there are numerous printings, papers and shades.
And because the stamps were made at a time of political upheaval, the covers are very interesting and sought-after. Because of the various wars of unifications in Italy, various different routes might have been taken for a letter to go from Sicily to Florence, for example. And they would all require different markings from different postal authorities.
A couple of years ago, the RPSL ran an exhibition by Francesco Lombardo of his collection of covers. I went with a friend of mine - an Austrian judge who collects Sicilian covers of this period. He told me that he bought a couple of covers 20 years ago. Because they are so costly, they are now completely out of his price bracket.
see also - The One Pound PUC stamp
The Five pound orange - a prize for serious collectors