The main influences on the adoption of overprinted stamps were as shown below.
a) Wars
– Nauru, a German colony occupied by the Australians in 1914.
– Italian colonies, issued in World War II during the allied occupation of former Italian colonies, often referred to as "BOIC" or "BOFIC" issues: EAF, MEF, Eritrea, Somalia, Tripolitania.
– "Additional Medicine Duty" revenue overprints when taxes were raised during World War I.
– Channel Islands essays of German occupation overprints for use in Guernsey and Jersey.
– Salonica field post office in the "Levant" area.
– Mafeking siege issues.
– Overprints on letter seals used by the British army in Egypt.
b) Temporary issues until a designated series was available
– Cyprus
– Ireland
– Nauru
– Zululand
c) Contractual arrangements to operate post offices in other countries
– Persian Gulf countries (Bahrain, British Postal Agencies, Kuwait, Qatar)
– Turkish empire ("Levant") – with a break in World War I when Turkey was allied to the Central Powers.
d) overprints to change or reinforce the use of stamps
– Tidal Testing postage
go to full list of all countries
page last updated: 22 June 2006
gbos: GB Overprints Society