Layer of text or graphics added to a banknote or postage stamp
This article is about overprints on stamps and currency. For the use of the term in printing, see overprinting. For other uses, see Overprint (disambiguation).
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed.[2][3]Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.[4]
The term "surcharge" in philately describes any type of overprint that alters the price of a stamp.[5] Surcharges raise or lower the face value of existing stamps when prices have changed too quickly to produce an appropriate new issue, or simply to use up surplus stocks.
Any overprint which restates a stamp's face value in a new currency is also described as a surcharge.[5] Some postal systems have resorted to surcharge overprints when converting to a new national monetary system, such as Sierra Leone did when the British Commonwealth converted to decimal currency in the 1960s.[6]
Stamps have occasionally been overprinted multiple times. A famous example of repeated surcharging happened during the German hyperinflation of 1921–1923. Prices rose so fast and dramatically that postage stamps which cost five or ten pfennigs in 1920 were overprinted for sale in the values of thousands, millions, and eventually billions of marks.[7]
Victoria, 1873: Penny stamp overprinted to new value of halfpenny
Russia, 1919: Tsarist 3-kopeck overprinted to new value of 50 kopecks for use in Siberia
Germany, 1923: Five thousand mark value overprinted to two million
Commemorative overprints
Overprints have often been used as commemoratives, providing a faster and lower-cost alternative to designing and issuing special stamps or postmarks. The United States, which historically has issued relatively few commemorative overprints, did this in 1928 for issues celebrating Molly Pitcher and the discovery of Hawaii. British stamps heralding the 1966 FIFA World Cup were reissued after England's victory with the overprint "England Winners". Similarly, Guyana issued a set of 32 stamps showing team pictures of all the participants in the 1998 World Cup – after the tournament eight of these were reissued with an overprint announcing France's win.
In some rare cases, commemorative overprints have been applied to souvenir sheets. When these postal commodities are overprinted, they are always very carefully positioned for aesthetic appeal, usually on the blank outer border ("selvage") of the paper.
Hong Kong, 1891: Definitive postage stamp overprinted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of British administration
United States, 1928: The mythic American revolutionary war hero "Molly Pitcher" was honored with an overprint.
Soviet Union, 1935: Aviator Sigizmund Levanevsky with red overprint for his North Pole flight, August 1935. Also includes 1 rouble surcharge.
Regular stamps were also overprinted to indicate exclusive usage for a special function or combination of functions; intended for airmail, official mail, newspapers, postage due, special delivery, telegraph and so on. The official stamps of some countries like Great Britain had an overprint which defined the specific official usage; for inland revenue, government parcels, office of works, military, admiralty, war tax (see below). The opposite occurs as well, in this case special function stamps are overprinted to serve as regular stamps.
Malta, 1899: 5s, 1886 issue, overprinted 'Revenue'
Great Britain, 1900: British 1/2d stamp overprinted 'ARMY TELEGRAPHS'
Austria, 1918: Austro-Hungarian Empire stamps overprinted 'FLUGPOST' for airmail. Also surcharged.
Soviet Union, 1924: regular 1918 issue overprinted 'DOPLATA' for postal duty. Also 1 kopeck surcharge.
Great Britain, 1942: British 2d stamp overprinted 'M.E.F.' ('Middle Eastern Forces'), for military use
Soviet Union, 1944: regular 30-kopeck stamp overprinted "AVIAPOCHTA" for airmail, and value increased to 1 ruble
Security measures
Overprints have been used as security measures to deter misuse and theft.[8] In the nineteenth century, Mexico was plagued by thefts of stamps on their way to remote post offices. To address this, stamps were shipped from Mexico City to the local districts where they were overprinted with the district name – they were not valid for postage without the overprint.
In El Salvador a significant quantity of stamps was stolen from the San Salvador post office in 1874. As a result all remaining stock was officially overprinted 'Contrasello' preventing usage of the non-overprinted stamps.[9]
The United States used a similar strategy to deal with thefts in Kansas and Nebraska in 1929, overprinting the current definitive issue with "Kans." and "Nebr." before they were shipped from Washington, to make it more difficult to sell stolen stamps outside the indicated state.
Germany, 1948: Allied control mark for Berlin postage
Colonial overprints
Nations overprinted stamps for use in their colonies mainly for the same reasons as for their domestic use. Due to poor planning, supply problems, faster than anticipated changing postal rates, changes in currency or other reasons they ran out of stamps, and demand had to be met. Some overprints were used to establish the first stage of postal service in a new territorial possession or colony however. If preparations had not been made, the controlling nation's regular homeland stamps would be overprinted with a local name, local currency or 'abroad' indication. In a similar fashion a nation's domestic stamps may be overprinted for use in foreign post offices under that power's control. For example, from 1919 to 1922 the United States overprinted 18 postage stamps at double value and marked for its office in Shanghai, China.
Italy 1874: Overprinted 'ESTERO' (abroad) for use in the Italian post offices abroad
Provisional stamps are postage issue made for temporary ad hoc usage to meet demands until regular issues are reintroduced.[10]
Transitional government overprints
New states or states in transition have sometimes found it necessary to recirculate stocks of stamps printed by a previous government. Some historical perspective may be gleaned from the study of such stamps: some transitional government overprints blend neatly with their predecessors' designs, while others attempt to totally obscure or even deface the older markings. In several European nations in 1944–45, Nazi occupational stamps were overprinted for the provisional governments, and those which depicted Adolf Hitler were most heavily overprinted, obliterating his face.
Latvia, 1993: Soviet stamp overprinted for independent Latvia
The first definitive issue of postage stamps of Sharjah (UAE), 1 riyal, 1963 and 1965, with Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi obscured following the coup
Wartime overprints
During times of war, many nations have issued war tax stamps. Before new stamps could be printed, older stamps were frequently overprinted with surcharges or a simple inscription such as "War Tax".
In actual combat zones, the replenishment of stamp stocks is generally low on a military's list of priorities. In contested or occupied areas, captured local stamps are often expediently overprinted by the occupying forces.
Belgium, World War I: German postage stamp overprinted with "Belgium" for use during the German occupation
Malta, 1918: Postage stamp with wartime taxation applied
Russian Civil War, Wrangel 1921: Russian Imperial stamp of 1908–1918 overprinted for the posts of Wrangel's army and civilian refugees
Any stamp that is cancelled by postal authorities before it is sold is described as "precancelled":[13] the precancellation mark is an overprint. This is usually only done when stamps are sold in large bulk quantities to businesses or other large organizations: the postal service will save the labor of cancelling each individual stamp by precancelling the entire purchased quantity.[14] The overprints also help prevent theft or misuse because they usually include the name of the city or region in which they are to be used. Unlike standard cancellation marks, they usually do not give a specific date, affording the bulk purchaser time to use them at their discretion. In some situations, however, months or years may be included in the overprint to indicate an expiration.
Precancels for official government use are fastidiously prepared, but other kinds are almost always "heavy cancels" which deliberately obliterate much of a stamp's design.
Any overprint that does not originate from a stamp-issuing authority is considered a private overprint or private cancellation. Such overprints almost always invalidate a stamp for postal use. Most countries treat unofficial overprints the same way the United States Post Office does: the USPS Domestic Mail Manual states that stamps "overprinted with an unauthorized design, message or other marking" are not valid for postage.[15]
Private overprints generally remain outside the formal realm of philately, although individual issues can achieve notoriety through their popularity or aesthetic appeal. Private overprints are typically political messages or commercial promotion, but can also originate from speculative philatelic purposes produced deliberately with a view to selling them to unsuspecting collectors.
Stamps owned by commercial entities have sometimes privately overprinted the backs of their purchased stamps. These overprints are usually made as control marks or accounting information. Such overprinting does not invalidate a stamp unless it shows through the front.
Some stamps are never valid for postal use. They are made for use in promotional displays or as reference material by postal authorities and the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Still others are manufactured by printers for color matching throughout successive printings. In all such cases, the stamps will display the word "specimen" (or "cancelled") on its face. Occasionally, the word may be uniquely handwritten by a postal authority or, much more elaborately, punched through the stamp paper in a method known as perfin. Most often, though, specimen markings are applied as a prominent overprint.[5]
The design and printing of valid paper currency is rarely done hastily and overprints are extremely rare, but in times of crisis such measures have been taken. After World War I, the various successor states of the Austro-Hungarian Empire made multilingual overprints to their old Imperial currency until new notes could be designed and circulated.
Currency overprints were also used during World War II to mark all United States dollars in the Hawaiian islands. These Hawaii overprint notes were made in case the islands were captured and the invading forces gained control of the money.[16]
Another unusual overprinting situation involving U.S. notes occurred when limited numbers of series 1935A silver certificatedollar bills were overprinted with either a red "R" or an "S". This indicated they were made of "regular" or "synthetic" paper and was a test of their wearing qualities.[17]
The HaitianGourde was overprinted after the unexpectedly rapid fall of the Baby Doc Duvalier regime.[18] The overprint consisted of a red circle with a slash across it with the date of the end of the Duvalier regime (7February 1986) printed below in red. The brusque symbol obscured the images of Baby Doc and Papa Doc until they were replaced with images of figures from Haitian history. Something similar was done in Iran in 1979 when the Shah's picture was covered by an intricate design.
Austria, 1919: Austro-Hungarian Imperial krone restricting circulation to the new Republic of Austria
↑ Ceresa, Dr. R.J. (May 1986). The Postage Stamps of Russia, 1917-23. Vol.2. Ukraine. Part 9/13. The Trident Issues of Kyiv Types I, II and II. Russian Philatelic Desk Top Publications, Felpham, Great Britain. p.170. ASINB0007BFS90.
↑ Ceresa, Dr. R.J. (August 1978). The Postage Stamps of Russia, 1917-23. Vol.1. Armenia. Part 3. The Large sized Framed HP Monogram Overprints. Russian Philatelic Desk Top Publications, Felpham, Great Britain. pp.62–63. ASINB0007BFS90.
A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or killer that marks postage stamps as having been used. Sometimes a postmark alone is used to cancel stamps, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Postmarks may be applied by handstamp or machine, using methods such as rollers or inkjets, while digital postmarks are a recent innovation.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Iceland. Regular mail service in Iceland was first established by a charter of 13 May 1776, and on 1 January 1873, Iceland issued its first postage stamps. The design was the same as for the Danish numeral issue of the time, denominated with values ranging from 2 to 16 skilling, and inscribed ÍSLAND. All are scarce or rare, and used copies are especially hard to find.
This is a list of philatelic topics.
An airmail stamp is a postage stamp intended to pay either an airmail fee that is charged in addition to the surface rate, or the full airmail rate, for an item of mail to be transported by air.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation.
Greece's first postal service was founded in 1828, at the time of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. This initial service continued mail delivery and, later, the issuing of postage stamps until 1970. It was then succeeded by the Hellenic Post S.A., which remains Greece's official postal provider. The first Greek stamps were issued in 1861; by then, the postal service had expanded to operate 97 branches.
The Far Eastern Republic, sometimes called the Chita Republic, existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of Siberia. It was formed from the Amur, Transbaikal, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Primorye regions. In theory, it extended from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok but, in May 1921, the Priamur and Maritime Provinces seceded. Although nominally independent, it was largely controlled by the RSFSR and its main purpose was to be a democratic buffer state between the RSFSR and the territories occupied by Japan during the Russian Civil War to avoid war with Japan. Initially, its capital was Verkhneudinsk, but from October 1920 it was Chita. On 15 November 1922, after the war ended and the Japanese withdrew from Vladivostok, the Far Eastern Republic was annexed by Soviet Russia.
The French post offices in Egypt were a system of post offices maintained by France in Egypt during the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. They were primarily intended to facilitate commercial and trading interests that needed to communicate between France and points east.
The Russian post offices in the Ottoman Empire were a set of post offices operated by Russia in various cities of the Ottoman Empire from the late 18th century until September 1914.
In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp".
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and all subsequent British issues, were used throughout Ireland until the new Irish Government assumed power in 1922. Beginning on 17 February 1922, existing British stamps were overprinted with Irish text to provide some definitives until separate Irish issues became available within the new Irish Free State. Following the overprints, a regular series of definitive stamps was produced by the new Department of Posts and Telegraphs, using domestic designs. These definitives were issued on 6 December 1922, the day that the Irish Free State officially came into existence; the first was a 2d stamp, depicting a map of Ireland. Since then new images, and additional values as needed, have produced nine definitive series of different designs.
Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone is a subject that covers the postal system, postage stamps used and mail sent to and from the Panama Canal Zone from 1904 up until October 1978, after the United States relinquished its authority of the Zone in compliance with the treaty it reached with Panama.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba.
The postage stamps and postal history of Papua New Guinea originated in the two colonial administrations on the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and continued until their eventual merger, followed by independence in 1975.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Fezzan and Ghadames, both now part of Libya.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Sierra Leone.
Postage rates in Russia have changed multiple times in the period 1917 to present. They have been introduced by the Soviet and Russian Federation governmental organs and agencies and reflected in alteration of stamp denominations.
Stamps of the Soviet Union were issued in the period 1923 to 1991. They were labeled with the inscription Russian: "Почта СССР". In the thematics, Soviet stamps reflected to a large extent the history, politics, economics and culture of this world's first socialist state.
International trading tax stamp is kind of revenue stamps that were used in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s for taxation of the trade in stamps. The latter were considered a commodity for which philatelists could be taxed. This type of taxation was introduced by the Soviet government in addition to revenue it collected from stamp sales. International trading tax stamps were issued by the Posledgol Central Commission of VTsIK, the Organisation of the Commissioner for Philately and Scripophily and, later, by the Soviet Philatelic Association.
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