South West Africa Officials
1931 to 1951

Updated - July, 2017
 

Identifying the South West Africa Official issues of 1931 to 1951 is primarily a matter of determining the overprint that was applied to the stamps. During the course of this set, four different overprints were applied to the lower values of the South West Africa stamps that were originally issued in 1931.

A lot of buyers and sellers seem to be confused about these overprints, maybe because of the lack of good examples in the catalogues. In order to assist in solving this problem, an example of each overprint was cut from the various stamps and is enlarged below. Note the size and the font used for each of them.

 
South West Africa English Overprint Font Examples
1931 Overprint
Note the smaller size
and the font used.
1938 Overprint
Only used on the 1-1/2d Issues
1945 Overprint
Note the oval shape of the O
and the font used.
1951 Overprint
Note the round shape of the O
and the font used.
 

The catalog numbers are from the 2008 Commonwealth King George VI Postage Stamp Catalogue (CW) published by Murray Payne, 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The description is from the Commonwealth Catalogue. Please contact the publishers to obtain a copy of their publication.

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.

 
1931 Overprint Set
CW - Not Listed - SG O13 - ST O13
1/2d Black & Emerald
CW - Not Listed - SG O14 - ST O14
1d Dark Blue & Scarlet
   
CW - Not Listed - SG O15 - ST O15
2d Blue-Black & Sepia-Brown
CW - Not Listed - SG O16 - ST O16
6d Blue & Olive-Brown
   
1938 Overprint Issue
CW - O1 - SG O17 - ST O17
1-1/2d Purple-Brown
   
1945 Overprint Set
CW - O2 - SG O18 - ST O18
1/2d Black & Emerald
Red Overprint
CW - O2a - SG O18 - ST O18
1/2d Black & Emerald
Dark Red Overprint
   
CW - O3 - SG O19 - ST O19
1d Dark Blue & Scarlet
   
CW - O4 - SG O20 - ST O20
1-1/2d Purple-Brown
Red Overprint
CW - O4b - SG O20 - ST O20
1-1/2d Purple-Brown
Dark Red Overprint
   
CW - O5 - SG O21 - ST O21
2d Blue-Black & Sepia-Brown
   
CW - O6 - SG O22 - ST O22
6d Blue & Olive-Brown
Red Overprint
CW - O6a - SG O22 - ST O22
6d Blue & Olive-Brown
Dark Red Overprint
   
1951 Overprint Set
The normal overprint is in English on an English stamp, and in Afrikaans on an Afrikaans stamp.
Transposed overprints are in English on an Afrikaans stamp, and in Afrikaans on an English stamp.

 

No Image available

Please send one if you have this stamp.

CW - O12 - SG O23 - ST O23
1/2d Black & Emerald
Normal Overprint
CW - O7a - SG O23a - ST O23
1/2d Black & Emerald
Transposed Overprint - Only known used
   
CW - O13 - SG O24 - ST O24
1d Dark Blue & Scarlet
Overprint Normal
CW - O8a - SG O24a - ST O24c
1d Dark Blue & Scarlet
Overprint Transposed
   
CW - O14 - SG O25 - ST O25
1-1/2d Purple-Brown
Overprint Normal
CW - O9a - SG O25a - ST O25c
1-1/2d Purple-Brown
Overprint Transposed
   
CW - O15 - SG O26 - ST O26
2d Blue-Black & Sepia-Brown
Overprint Normal
CW - O10a - SG O26a - ST O26c
2d Blue-Black & Sepia-Brown
Overprint Transposed
   
CW - O16 - SG O27 - ST O27
6d Blue & Olive-Brown
Overprint Normal
CW - O11a - SG O27a - ST O27c
6d Blue & Olive-Brown
Overprint Transposed
   

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

       
Comments or Questions feel free to write
       
Classic South West Africa Stamps for sale based on the identification from this article.
       
Index to KGVI Stamp Description Web Sites
       
Links to other British Colonial Stamp Sites