First stamps
The first stamps of Brunei were the 1895 "Star and crescent" set, long considered to bogus but subsequently shown to be genuine, although valid only for mail within the state and to Sarawak and Labuan. [1]
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Brunei .
Brunei is located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Its coastline with the South China Sea is the only portion that is not bounded by another country; the state of Sarawak, Malaysia surrounds the country and it is divided into two portion by Limbang, which is part of Sarawak.
The first stamps of Brunei were the 1895 "Star and crescent" set, long considered to bogus but subsequently shown to be genuine, although valid only for mail within the state and to Sarawak and Labuan. [1]
In 1906 stamps of Labuan came into use, overprinted BRUNEI. [1]
In 1907 a set inscribed "BRUNEI POSTAGE & REVENUE" was issued showing a boat on the River Brunei. This set remained in use until 1949 during which time it went through many different printings. [1]
Brunei was occupied by the Japanese forces in January 1942 until liberation in June 1945. During the occupation, overprinted and un-overprinted stamps of Brunei were used as well as stamps of Japan.
Following liberation, stamps of North Borneo and Sarawak were overprinted "BMA" (British Military Administration). [1]
A new set of definitives was issued on 2 January 1947. In 1949 a set was issued celebrating Sultan Ahmed Tajudin's Silver Jubilee. Also in 1949 Brunei issued stamps for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union as part of a British Commonwealth omnibus issue. [1]
In 1952 a new series of definitive stamps were issued featuring Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin which was another long-running series lasting until 1972. [2]
Regular commemorative and definitive stamp issues have continued since then.
Since independence on 1 January 1984, Brunei has issued stamps inscribed as "Brunei Darussalam". [3]
Brunei never issued revenue-only stamps, since dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were valid for fiscal use. High value stamps such as the $25 from the Brunei river series were intended for fiscal purposes but were technically also valid for postage. [4]
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of British East Africa.
North Borneo, located in the northern part of the island of Borneo, was a British protectorate from 1888 and a British Crown colony after 1946.
The Straits Settlements of the Malayan Peninsula have a postal history distinct from the other Malayan areas.
The history of postage stamps and postal history of Malaysia, a state in Southeast Asia that occupies the south of the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak and Sabah in the north Borneo, includes the development of postal services in these periods:
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tripolitania, now part of Libya.
Bahrain first used the postage stamps of British India before eventually issuing its own stamps in 1960.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Taiwan, otherwise known as Formosa, and currently governed by the Republic of China.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Jordan, formerly Transjordan.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Ghana, known as the Gold Coast before independence.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cyrenaica, now part of Libya.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Libya. Libya is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Lesotho, formerly known as Basutoland.
Revenue stamps of British Guiana refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive or directly embossed, which were issued by British Guiana prior to the colony's independence as Guyana in 1966. Between the 1860s and 1890s, the colony issued Inland Revenue and Summary Jurisdiction stamps, while revenue stamps and dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps were issued during the late 19th and 20th centuries. In around the 1890s or 1900s, British Guiana possibly issued stamps for taxes on medicine and matches, but it is unclear if these were actually issued. Guyana continued to issue its own revenue stamps after independence.
Sarawak issued stamps that functioned as both postage and revenue purposes from 1869 to 1949 from the period of Raj of Sarawak, Japanese occupation, British Military Administration, to Crown Colony of Sarawak.
Malaysia first issued revenue stamps as the Straits Settlements in 1863, and continues to do so to this day. Over the years, a number of entities in modern Malaysia have issued revenue stamps.
Over the years various Malay States issued their own revenue stamps. Now most states use Malaysian revenue stamps, except for Singapore which is independent and no longer uses revenue stamps.
A postage and revenue stamp, sometimes also called a dual-purpose stamp or a compound stamp, is a stamp which is equally valid for use for postage or revenue purposes. They often but not always bore an inscription such as "Postage and Revenue". Dual-purpose stamps were common in the United Kingdom and the British Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries, and they are still used in some countries as of the early 21st century.
Revenue stamps of Guyana refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which have been issued by Guyana since its independence in 1966. Prior to independence, the country was known as British Guiana, and it had issued its own revenue stamps since the 19th century. Guyana used dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps until 1977, and it issued revenue-only stamps between 1975 and the 2000s. The country has also issued National Insurance stamps, labels for airport departure tax and excise stamps for cigarettes and alcohol.
