Founded in 1787 as a state for freed slaves, Sierra Leone was formerly a British colony and protectorate. Independent since 1961, it became a republic within the British Commonwealth in 1971. Sierra Leone’s first stamps were issued in 1859, showing Queen Victoria. The stamps are one of the British colonial “key types”, used until 1932, illustrating various monarchs. At that time a pictorial series was issued, followed by the famous Wilberforce Issue. This series celebrated the abolition of slavery in the British colonies as well as the birth centenary of William Wilberforce, a leading abolitionist. The one-pound value of the set, showing Freetown Harbor, is valued in the 2019 Scott Catalogue at $650 in mint condition.