Identifying the South West Africa S.W.A. Overprint issues from 1927 thru 1931 is primarily a matter of determining the position of the overprint on the stamp, and for the 1/2d and 1d determining the underlying stamp. However, there are some position flaws caused by missing periods on the overprint. There are also perforation varieties on the larger sized stamps. The options are the oriuginal Perf 14 on all sides and Perf 14 x 13.5 which occured on later printings of these stamps. These are not illustrated in this article, but are found in the catalogues.

The catalog numbers are from the 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The description is from the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue. The quantities overprinted under the listings are from the 1995 edition of The South African Stamp Colour Catalogue. Please contact the publishers to obtain a copy of their publication. You can find a link on the "Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites" which is linked at the bottom of this page.

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