Eritrea
Until 1948, during the continued British occupation, the wartime MEF (Middle East Forces) stamps were used in Eritrea, and were sold in local currency equivalents (East Africa shillings). They were then replaced by issues overprinted with the country name and local currency. The first set was for the British Military Administration ("BMA"), but with the change to civilian government and wider public use of the posts the overprint was changed to "BA" - British Administration.
Some stamps can be found used with a penline across them: these are collectable in this state as the penline was used as a sort of "perfin" to prevent petty theft; they were probably not used to indicate a concessionary rate (see The Overprinter 2/03 p.31) as they can be found on several denominations.
For overprinted stamps on telegraph forms, perforated "PAGATO" ("PAID"), see Eritrea Revenues.
For forerunners prepared in 1941 (but not issued) see under Somalia.
Note: this numbering system was drawn up by the Society for the website, and may not be used without permission.
King George VI
Definitive set
27 May 1948 (except 65c)
1 "5 CENTS" on ½d pale green
2 "10 CENTS" on 1d pale red
3 "20 CENTS" on 2d pale orange
4 "25 CENTS" on 2½d pale blue
5 "30 CENTS" on 3d pale violet
6 "40 CENTS" on 5d brown
7 "50 CENTS" on 6d purple
8 "65 CENTS" on 8d red (1 February 1949)
9 "75 CENTS" on 9d green
10 "1 SHILLING" on 1/- brown
11 "2 SH. 50 CENTS" on 2/6d green, Arms
12 "5 SHILLINGS" on 5/- red, Arms
13 "10 SHILLINGS" on 10/- blue, Arms
overprint varieties
(image courtesy of Philangles)
2 v1 10c overprint misplaced to the right
4 v1 25c overprint misplaced
11 v1 dot distorted and misplaced "2 SH .50 CENTS" (row 4/7)
note: this also occurs for Somalia, showing that the same basic plate was used for both; it was corrected for the "BA" issues.
Overprint changed to read "BA ERITREA"
for civilian British Administration
6 February 1950
Note: the overprint on the 5s and 10s is slightly shorter than the equivalent BMA overprint, making the lines at the top closer together.
14 "5 CENTS" on ½d pale green
15 "10 CENTS" on 1d pale red
16 "20 CENTS" on 2d pale orange
17 "25 CENTS" on 2½d pale blue
18 "30 CENTS" on 3d pale violet
19 "40 CENTS" on 5d brown
20 "50 CENTS" on 6d purple
21 "65 CENTS" on 8d red
22 "75 CENTS" on 9d green
23 "1 SHILLING" on 1/- brown
24 "2 SH. 50 CENTS" on 2/6d green, Arms
25 "5 SHILLINGS" on 5/- red, Arms
26 "10 SHILLINGS" on 10/- blue, Arms
Changed colours and designs
3 May 1951
The colour of the low values was changed to retain conformity with UPU requirements; the release date of these and the new high values was to coincide with the Festival of Britain.
27 "5 CENTS" on ½d orange
28 "10 CENTS" on 1d blue
29 "20 CENTS" on 2d brown
30 "25 CENTS" on 2½d red
31 "2 SH. 50 CENTS" on 2/6d green
32 "5 SHILLINGS" on 5/- red
33 "10 SHILLINGS" on 10/- blue
Postage dues
watermark sideways
34 "5 CENTS" on ½d green
35 "10 CENTS" on 1d red
36 "20 CENTS" on 2d black
37 "30 CENTS" on 3d violet
38 "1 SHILLING" on 1/- blue
overprint varieties
35 v1 10c dot missing after "B"
36 v1 20c dot missing after "A"
36 v2 20c dot missing after "B"
note: the "missing dots" occur in several places on the sheet, and other stamps show them very faint.
39 "5 CENTS" on ½d green
40 "10 CENTS" on 1d red
41 "20 CENTS" on 2d black
42 "30 CENTS" on 3d violet
43 "1 SHILLING" on 1/- blue
overprint varieties
(illustration courtesy of Harmers)
40 v1 10c "C" omitted (row 7/17)
40 v2 10c vertical printers block instead of "C" (row 7/17: related to the above)
43 v1 1s missing dot after "A" (row 2/13)
watermark varieties
42 wi 30c watermark sideways inverted
From 15 September 1952 Eritrea was incorporated into Ethiopia and therefore used Ethiopian stamps.
page last updated: 31 October 2008, 29 June 2011, 6 March 2013, 8 June 2014, 23 June 2014
gbos: GB Overprints Society