Updated - July, 2017
Identifying the South West Africa Official issues from 1927 thru 1929 is primarily a matter of determining the overprint. There were three layouts used on the South Africa stamps during this time period. It is really challenging to figure out these stamps because of the lack of images in the catalogs. This article is meant to visually demonstrate each of the stamps as described in the catalogs.
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.
The images were saved in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in sorting them. Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for this page to load.
Overprinted on 1926 South Africa stamps plus the 2d value from 1913 set.
The stamps were overprinted with alternating language overprints.
1/2d Black & Green
1,200 pairs of stamps overprinted
1d Black & Carmine
1,200 pairs of stamps overprinted
2d Dull Purple
1,200 pairs of stamps overprinted
6d Green & Orange
1,200 pairs of stamps overprinted
Overprinted on 1926 South Africa stamps plus the 2d value from 1927 set.
The stamps were overprinted with alternating language overprints.
1/2d Black & Green
12,000 pairs of stamps overprinted
1d Black & Carmine
12,000 pairs of stamps overprinted
2d Grey & Purple
12,000 pairs of stamps overprinted
Look for the varieties with or without periods
after both language spellings of OFFICIAL
6d Green & Orange
12,000 pairs of stamps overprinted
Overprinted on 1926 South Africa stamps plus the 2d value from 1927 set.
The stamps were overprinted with alternating language overprints.
1/2d Black & Green
1d Black & Carmine
2d Grey & Purple
Look for the varieties with or without periods
after both language spellings of OFFICIAL
6d Green & Orange
This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or include a correction.