KGVIStamps.com
South West Africa Collection Page Scans

The South West Africa stamps were printed by applying an overprint to South Africa stamps until 1953. The only exceptions were the King George V Silver Jubilee and King George VI Coronation sets. So in order to properly sort these stamps, you need to have some understanding of the South Africa issues.

Unfortunately, the catalogs assume you are familiar with the South African stamps, so there are no pictures just a note of which stamp and an image of the overprint. As a result, people have a lot of trouble identifying these stamps. Frankly, it is just too much work. As I was figuring it out, I had to open two catalog one to the South Africa listings and the other to South West Africa. The Official issues are even more interesting because you have the basic South Africa stamp with the South West Africa overprint and then the Official overprint. So be prepared for some confusion and frustration as you work on them. Hopefully the stamps shown on the pages attached to this page will help you understand what to look for as you sort your stamps. For a more detailed description of what to look for, consult the South West Africa stamps overview on my web pages. Please use this link to find the listings.

The pages are from my collection, and are identified by the Commonwealth, Gibbons, and Scott numbers in that order. The page images were scanned in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in viewing them. Feel free to select the page and let it download to your screen and save it to your hard drive for viewing. If you are using a PC, selecting the page will typically open it in Microsoft Photo Viewer (or whatever you are using as your default). From there you can enlarge the size for more close-up viewing. If you are using a phone - go find a PC or a Mac. The images are 1200 pixels wide and you will go mad trying to view them on your phone.

Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for each page to load.

 
South West Africa Collection Page Scans
       
Commonwealth # Stanley Gibbons # Scott # Description and Page Link
       
  41-43, 44-54 85-93 South West Africa - 1926 Set
  58-69 96-107 South West Africa - 1927 Set - Page 1
      South West Africa - 1927 Set - Page 2
  74-87, 96 109-120, C5-C6 South West Africa - 1937 Set
S18-S25, S34 114-122 135-143 South West Africa - 1941 Set - Page 1
      South West Africa - 1941 Set - Page 2
S26-S33 123-130b 144-152 South West Africa - 1942 Set - Page 1
      South West Africa - 1942 Set - Page 2
      South West Africa - 1942 Set - Page 3
  O1-O4, O5-O8, O6-O12 O1-O4, O5-O8, O6-O12 South West Africa - 1926-1929 Official Sets
NL, O1, O2-O6 O13-O16, O17, O18-O22 O13-O16, O17, O18-O22 South West Africa - 1931-1945 Official Sets
O7-O16 O23-O27 O23-O27 South West Africa - 1951 Official Set
       

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or suggest a correction.

       
Comments or Questions feel free to write
       
South West Africa Classic (King George V) Stamps for sale
 
South West Africa King George VI Stamps for sale
       
Web pages describing various sets from the British Colonies
Index to KGVI Stamps Web Sites
 
Web pages with links to full page scans from the KGVI Stamps Reference Collection
Index to KGVI Stamps Collection Page Scan Sites
 
Links to other British Colonial Stamp Sites