Postage stamps and postal history of British Somaliland

A pair of Indian stamps overprinted for use in Somalia with the 2nd I in BRITISH missing on the left hand stamp.

A George VI 2 anna stamp inscribed Somaliland Protectorate.

Originally mail from British Somaliland used postage stamps of Egypt, then India. In 1903, about 30 types of stamps of India were overprinted "BRITISH / SOMALILAND".

First stamps

In 1904 the protectorate issued its own stamps, featuring a profile of King Edward VII, and inscribed "SOMALILAND PROTECTORATE". Issues of George V used the same design with George's profile.

George VI

After George VI ascended the throne, the new series of 12 values used three pictorial designs; a Berbera blackhead sheep, Greater Kudu antelope, and a map. The 1938 series included a 3/4 portrait of the king; in 1942, with the restoration of civil postal service, new stamps used a full-face portrait, and the sheep design was re-engraved.

Change of currency

Around 1950 the currency changed from annas and rupees to cents and shillings, and the 1942 stamps were appropriately surcharged. Ironically, the UPU 75th anniversary issue was printed in cents and shillings, but its issue date was 10 October 1949, before the changeover, so those stamps had to be surcharged in the old currency.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II ushered in a new series featuring a variety of local wildlife and scenes. Some values of these stamps were overprinted 21 May 1957 with "OPENING / OF THE / LEGISLATIVE / COUNCIL / 1957", and on 5 April 1960 with "LEGISLATIVE / COUNCIL / UNOFFICIAL / MAJORITY, / 1960" to mark the events as named by the overprints.

All the stamps of British Somaliland were withdrawn from sale on 25 June 1960; for the week prior to formal unification on 1 July, stamps of Italian Somaliland and Somalia were used.

Sources

Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities
Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986. ISBN 0-356-10862-7

Postage stamps and postal history of Africa

Afars and Issas Algeria Angola Anjouan Ascension Basutoland Bechuanaland Protectorate Belgian Congo Benin Biafra Botswana British Bechuanaland British Cameroons British Central Africa British East Africa British Somaliland Burundi Cameroon Cape Juby Cape of Good Hope Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Côte d'Ivoire Cyrenaica DRC Diégo-Suarez Djibouti East Africa and Uganda Protectorates Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Equatorial Guinea Fernando Poo Fezzan and Ghadames French Congo French Guinea French Somaliland French Sudan French West Africa Gabon Gambia German East Africa German South-West Africa Ghana Gold Coast Griqualand West Guinea Guinea-Bissau Inhambane Italian East Africa Italian Libya Kenya Kenya and Uganda Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika Kionga La Agüera Lagos Lesotho Liberia Libya Lourenco Marques Madagascar Malagasy Republic Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Morocco Morocco Agencies Mozambique Namibia Natal Niger Niger Coast Protectorate Niger Territories Nigeria Northern Nigeria Protectorate Nyasaland Protectorate Nyassa Company Obock Oil Rivers Protectorate Oltre Giuba Orange Free State Pietersburg Portuguese Guinea Quelimane Reunion Rhodesia and Nyasaland Rio Muni Ruanda-Urundi Rwanda Saint Helena Senegal Senegambia and Niger Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland Protectorate South Africa South Sudan South West Africa Southern Nigeria Protectorate Spanish Guinea Stellaland Sudan Swaziland Tanganyika Tanzania Tete Togo Transvaal Tripolitania Tristan da Cunha Tunisia Ubangi-Shari Uganda Upper Senegal and Niger Western Sahara Zaire Zambezia Zambia Zanzibar Zimbabwe Zululand

See also Americas Asia Europe Oceania Portal WikiProject

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.