Postage Due Handstamps
A review of those countries that have (un)authorized provisional postage due stamps that were
created by handstamping regular postage stamps.
I have a great interest in local postage stamps, and this has drawn me into the wide variety of
locally-prepared provisional handstamps. One group that seems to have been ignored by many
catalogs is the Postage Due Handstamp.
Originally, postage due was indicated by manuscript or handstamp markings applied to the cover;
later, special stamps were used for postage due fees. At present, most countries seem to have
returned to using markings on the cover.
During the period when stamps were used to signify postage due, the lack of special postage
due stamps was often compensated for by handstamping regular postage stamps with P
or PORTO, T or TAXE, or the equivalent in the local
language.
What I would like to know is:
- which countries have authorized provisional handstamped postage dues?
- which countries have many varieties of handstamp, especially identifiable local
handstamps?
- what references exist for these stamps?
View an illustrated table of the countries
from which I have copies of or have heard of provisional handstamped postage dues.
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The background is from a rock slab I scanned. Different?
This page was last updated on March 18, 1999.
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