1d Red
3d Orange
4d Blue
6d Lilac-mauve
1/- Green
Thanks to Neville Midwood for his assistance with this page, and for the image of the 1d red.
The short-lived Republic of Stellaland came into being at the end of 1882, with a capital located in Vryburg. On the 30th of September, 1885 Stellaland became part of British Bechuanaland, which subsequently underwent several changes of name and boundary and is now part of Botswana.
During this time, the government issued one set of postage stamps, and one set of revenue stamps. All values in each set had the same design. For the postage stamps, this was the coat of arms of the republic, and for the revenue stamps, a design depicting a pair of heraldic lions supporting the coat of arms between them.
Stamps were only valid within the Republic. External mail travelled either via Christiana (in the Transvaal), or via Barkly West (in the Cape of Good Hope) and was therefore franked with stamps of both countries.
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1d Red |
3d Orange |
4d Blue |
6d Lilac-mauve |
1/- Green |
Genuine stamps are perforated 12. The stamps were produced in Cape Town, presumably using locally made inks and paper, so the colours tend to fade and the stamps often look a bit 'tired'. In particular, the blue of the 4d often fades to a bluish-grey. Genuine cancellations are always in manuscript. When the stamps were withdrawn, the remaining stocks were sold and significant numbers
Imperforate pairs and blocks are known but these are probably printers remainders.
Numerous forgeries of all these stamps exist. I have seen what appear to be several different sorts so there must have been more than one forger at work. Most are easy to detect, especially when compared with the real stamps. Colours tend to be cleaner and stronger than the originals, and the designs appear sharper. However, I find that the forgeries can sometimes be difficult to detect.
An excellent page on detecting the forged stamps is owned by Neville Midwood, and it can be found here.
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1d forgery |
3d forgery |
4d forgery |
6d forgery |
1s forgery |
At some time in 1885, some copies of the 4d blue were overstamped with the word Twee ('twee' means 'two' in Dutch). The overprint was made sideways with a handstamp, using violet ink, and in a gothic font. The status of this stamp is unclear. Stanley Gibbons accord it genuine status, but Robson Lowe and others consider it a forgery. Having seen three of these stamps, I tend to agree with the bogus status - all were mint copies, and there is no evidence in the written records of the time for any requirement for a 2d value.
Section still to be completed!
A marginal copy of the £5 value with inverted JPM monogram cancel. This was the highest value revenue stamp.
