Bechuanaland Protectorate Stamps

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This Page displays stamp issues and varieties

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Bechuanaland Protectorate
1888 Protectorate Overprints

SG 40 Variety
½d Several letters in Protectorate doubled
This is not SG 40a


SG 41 1d Overprint	SG 42 2d Overprint	SG 44 4d Overprint	SG 45 6d Overprint	SG 46s SPECIMEN	SG 47 2/- Overprint	SG 49 5/- Overprint

1889 - 1890 Great Britain Overprints

1897 C.O.G.H. Overprint


SG 53s SPECIMEN Type BEC2	SG 54a Overprint Inverted	SG 55 Overprint 19mm long	SG 56 ½d Lines 13mm apart	SG 57 ½d Lines 13½mm apart

SG 56
½d Ink flaw at foot of
R in BRITISH creates
Spelling as BBITISH

1897 - 1902 Great Britain Queen Victoria Overprints

SG 59 - 65

Handstamped
SPECIMEN

SG 59 - 65
Mint

1904 - 1913 Great Britain KEVII Overprints


SG 66 ½d Blue-green	SG 67 ½d Yellow-green	SG 68 1d Scarlet	SG 69 2½d Ultramarine	SG 70 1s Deep green & scarlet	SG 71 1s Green & carmine

1912 - 1914 Great Britain KGV 1d Downey Overprint

	1d SG 72 Scarlet Controls B11 and B12 Perforation Up and Down SG 72b Aniline scarlet
	Variety SG 72a No Cross on Crown

1913 - 1924 Great Britain KGV Overprints
Watermark Multiple Cypher


SG 73 ½d Green	SG 74 1d Scarlet	SG 77 1½d Red brown	SG 76 2d Reddish-orange	SG 78 2½d Cobalt blue


SG 79 3d Bluish violet	SG 80 4d Grey green	SG 81 6d Reddish purple	SG 82 1s Bistre	SG 82s 1s Overprinted SPECIMEN

1914 - 1923 Great Britain KGV Seahorse Overprints

1914 - 1915 Waterlow Printings

1914 Specimens
SG 83s - 84s
2/6 & 5/-
Waterlow Printings
Overprinted SPECIMEN


SG 83 2/6 Deep sepia brown	SG 84 5/- Rose carmine	SG 84 5/- Rose carmine

1916-19 De La Rue Printings


SG 85 2/6 Pale brown	SG 87 - BEC 12 5/- Marginal block with Printers mark on selvedge	SG 87 5/- Bright carmine

1920 - 23 Bradbury Wilkinson Printings


SG 88 - Series I 2/6 Chocolate brown	SG 88 - Series I 2/6 Red brown with Re-entries on R3/5	SG 88 - Series II 2/6 Chocolate brown	SG 88 - Series II 2/6 Pale brown

SG 89
5/- Rose red

SG 89
5/- Pale rose red

1925 - 27 KGV Block Cypher Watermark


SG 91 ½d Green	SG 92 1d Scarlet	SG 93 2d Orange	SG 94 3d Violet


SG 95 4d Grey green	SG 96 6d Reddish purple	SG 97 6d Purple	SG 98 1s Bistre brown

SG 98w
1s Bistre brown
Watermark Inverted
Rare Multiple

Since 1885 the Postage stamps of Bechuanaland consisted of stamps from other Countries suitably overprinted for use in the Territory. Initially they utilized Cape of Good Hope stamps, then the Unappropriated Dies of Great Britain. They were followed by the 1887 Queen Victoria Jubilee issue and the KEVII and KGV definitives.

Finally in 1932 the Protectorate had its own distinctive issue printed by Waterlow and Sons. The chosen design of the Baobab tree and cattle drinking water is said to be based on a photograph taken by the Resident Commissioner in Ngamiland. The tree represents a typical part of the country’s flora and the cattle are an important part of the economy. This design was carried forward during the Reign of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II and lasted until 1961.

1932 KGV Baobab and Cattle Definitives

12 December 1932 - SG 99 - 110

Prior to the issue of the KGVI definitives on 1 April 1938, all the overprinted issue were demonetised on 8 February 1938 by the following notice

HIGH COMMISSIONER’S NOTICE No 23 OF 1938
In view of the issue of a new series of combined postage and revenue stamps for the Bechuanaland Protectorate on the 12th December, 1932, His Excellency the High Commissioner has been pleased in terms of section one of Proclamation No. 55 of 1933, to make the following regulations providing for the demonetisation of the old series of overprinted Bechuanaland Protectorate British postage stamps:

(a) All overprinted postage stamps of each denomination of the old series shall be demonetised with effect from the date of publication of this notice;
(b) For a period of three months from the date of demonetisation stamps of the old series will be valid for postal purposes, but after that period postal matter bearing such stamps will be subject to surcharge.

By Command of His Excellency the High Commissioner.
H.E. PRIESTMAN, Administrative Secretary
High Commissioner’s Office, Cape Town, 8th February, 1938

The Overprinted Issues enjoyed a period of three months grace, thus use of these stamps for Postage ceased on 7 May 1938

1938 KGVI Baobab and Cattle Definitives


½d Green	½d Light yellowish green	½d Yellowish green	½d Deep green	1d Scarlet	1½d Dull blue

The KGVI Definitives enjoyed an extended period of use because the QEII definitives were only finally issued on 3 January 1955


1½d Light blue	2d Chocolate brown	3d Deep Ultramarine	4d Orange	6d Reddish purple	6d Purple


1/- Black & brown olive	1/- Grey black & olive green	2/6 Black & scarlet	5/- Black & deep ultramarine	5/- Grey black & deep ultramarine	10/- Black & red brown

There were many Printings of the KGVI definitives and there are far more variations than the Stanley Gibbons catalogue suggests
A summary of Printings is ½d Seven, 1d Seven, 1½d Six, 2d Ten, 3d Five, 4d Four, 6d Eight, 1/- Five, 2/6 Four, 5/- Five and 10/- Three

My own experience in studying KGVI Waterlow Definitives from other colonies is that the initial 1938 Printings were invariably on thicker paper with yellow gum. The types of gum on subsequent reprints and the thickness of paper vary and by early 1950 much thinner paper with white gum was used by Waterlow.

1955 - 58 QEII Baobab and Cattle Definitives
A set of eleven values was issued on 3 January 1955, a 4d was added on 1 December 1958

1961 QEII Decimal Overprinted Definitives
Issued 14 February


1c Type I	1c Type II	2c on 2d	2½c Type I	2½c Type II


2½c on 3d	3½c Type I	3½c Type I Wide	3½c Type II	3½c Type II Wide


3½c Type III	5c Type I	5c Type II	10c on 1/-	12½c on 1/3


25c on 2/6	50c on 5/-	R1 Type I used	R1 Type II Bottom left	R1 Type II Central

3½c Types I and II occur on the same sheet, as well as the wider overprint on both types.
On a sheet of sixty there are Type I (33) - Type II (18) - Type I Wide (5) - Type II Wide (3) plus a type II with a thick c ex R9/3

Overprint Varieties
Two impressive versions are known, a dramatic downward shift on a 2½c Type II omits the overprint on row 1 and an example from the last row of the same sheet includes an overprint at the top of each stamp plus an overprint in the lower margin.

A sheet of the 10c with a major shift to the left places the overprint of the first stamp in the margin and omits it from stamp six
It is believed that prior to its discovery, part of the sheet had already been broken up and that up to seven rows may have survived. Currently I am able to account for at least six strips of SG 163a, see images below.

		R1 Type I - SG 167 The First Setting of this Surcharge was produced on the original 1955 Printing of the 10/- value. Only thirty sheets (1,800 stamps were overprinted) According to Holmes in his 1971 Publication between 400 and 500 Type I were sent to Berne for UPU distribution. 700 copies are believed to have been used on First Day Covers. Thus a mere ten sheets, 600 stamps were available in mint condition and blocks of four or larger multiples were considered as rarities. I sold a block of four in my 10 September 2004 Bechuanaland Postal Auction as lot 96. From an impeccable source I have been informed that there ought to be five complete sheets of the R1 Type I in the Botswana archives.
R1 Type I Overprint central	R1 Type I Overprint off Centre and low

Another very reliable source who has seen the five sheets in the Botswana Postal Archive informed me - One of the complete sheets in the Botswana Post archive has the surcharge very low thus. I wonder if it's still complete?

In recent years several blocks have appeared in a variety of auctions and Murray Payne in their 29 July 2014 Auction in lot 189 offered a R1 Type I in a Cylinder - Imprint block of eight, estimated at £2000, it sold for £4300.
Recently a previously unknown Type I with the Overprint at foot was brought to my attention. Enquiries made in the United Kingdom and South Africa suggest that an individual of Indian descent had at least three or more intact sheets of which one has the R1 Type I in the lower Country tablet as illustrated above. A reliable source in South Africa informed me that the person concerned previously resided in Botswana and now lives in Johannesburg. My source states that he gained sight of one intact sheet and had been offered an example of the overprint at foot.

It has also been suggested that Stanley Gibbons purchased a quantity of the R1 from a man of Indian descent during the 2010 Johannesburg International.
Another UK dealer informed me that he saw two bottom rows of SG 167 at that particular show. The same man is also selling Imerforate proofs of Botswana Issues and thus far I have seen odd values in imperforate blocks of four for 1982 and 1985 Christmas plus 1988 Early Cultivation.
Several individuals are speculating that the back door at the archives may have developed a faulty hinge or perhaps the lock is broken?

On occasion a full sheet of a scarce stamp may suddenly come to light, after fifty years, more than one seems strange, but a complete sheet with an overprint in a different position appears to be too good to be true. Philatelic research can only be effective if the owner of the material reveals his source of acquisition.
An unsubstantiated suggestion is that the R1 at foot might be from a proof sheet, on the other hand it could be a rejected sheet that was returned by the Government Printer in Pretoria to the Bechuanaland Postal Authority in 1961.
Pat Bullivant in his 1962 Shelly Catalogue states - Type I was limited to 30 Sheets of 60, of which some 400 are said to have been destroyed whilst a considerable proportion were used up on specially prepared First Day Covers.
If a quantity of the R1 type I had to be destroyed, was it perhaps because the overprint was situated in position where it was difficult to see?
Should Bullivant's observation be correct, it suggests that the recent flood of SG 167 onto the market more or less doubles the number of known mint copies and effectively devalues a mint R1 Type I considerably.

The Question remains How did all this material come into the possession of a man who is peddling his wares quite openly?

1961 10 Cent on 1/- with Overprint shift to the Left SG 163a

Normal Ex Row 5

SG 163a Ex Row 5

Photograph of the Original lower half of the sheet Rows 6 to 10
Note - On Rows 6, 8 and 10 the 1 in 10c in the margin is omitted and on row 6 the 0 in 10c is broken

SG 163a Ex Row 6 - Argyll Etkin Auction - 24 September 2003

SG 163a Ex Row 7 - Spink Auction - 3 October 2007 - Ex Inglefield Watson

2 October 1961 QEII Pictorial Definitives


Golden Oriole	African Hoopoe	Scarlet-chested sunbird	Cape widow bird	Swallow-tailed bee-eater	Grey Hornbill

	The 1961 Pictorial Definitives - Printed by Harrison in Photogravure In January 1959 the Crown Agents invited artists to submit designs for a new definitive and the invitation was met with an enthusiast response Eighty artists submitted 435 designs, of the fourteen chosen; eight designs featured birds and was the work of PBD Jones from Salisbury in Rhodesia The remaining six designs were executed by a team being A. Larkins, R. Turrell, and Max Thoma
Red-headed weaver				Brown-hooded Kingfisher


Woman Musician	Baobab Tree	Grinding Maize	Bechuana Ox	Lion	Police Camel Patrol

Bechuanaland Commemorative Issues 1935 - 1966

The Bechuanaland Protectorate

Their stamp issuing policy was essentially under the control of the Crown Agents who included Bechuanaland in the various Commonwealth Omnibus issues starting with the 1935 King George V Silver Jubilee.

During the Reign of King George VI it included the 1937 Coronation, 1945 Victory (Not the standard Crown Colonies design, but overprinted on the South African issue), 1948 Royal Silver Wedding and 1949 75th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union.

In addition Bechuanaland issued a set of four stamps to commemorate the 1947 Royal Visit and used the same designs adopted by Basutoland and Swaziland. South Africa produced its own designs and the stamps were overprinted S.W.A. for use in South West Africa.

Starting with the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II the country issued the various Crown Agent Omnibus stamps which are the 1953 Coronation, 1963 Freedom from Hunger, 1963 Red Cross Centenary, 1964 400th Birth Anniversary of William Shakespeare, 1965 I.T.U. Centenary, 1965 International Co-Operative Year and the 1966 Churchill Commemoration.

Bechuanaland’s first exclusive commemorative stamps was a single design in a set of three values issued on 21 January 1960 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Bechuanaland Protectorate that came into being in 1885.
Before Independence, two further commemorative issues followed, a set of four using a common design for the New Constitution on 1 March 1965. Finally four different designs honouring the men who fought in World War II as the Bechuanaland Royal Pioneer Corps, issued on 1 June 1966.

4 May 1935 King George V Silver Jubilee - SG 111 - 114

King George VI Commemoratives

12 May 1937
Coronation

SG 115 - 117
SPECIMEN Set

3 December 1945 - Victory - Overprints on South Africa Issue

Overprint Omitted on top Stamp

SG 129 -131

Overprint Variety - SG 131a
A downward shift of the overprint - Omission on the
upper stamp & Bechuanaland in the lower margin

Argyll Etkin Auction 24 September 2003
Lots 1343 and 1344


	17 February 1947 Royal Visit SG 132 - 135


	1 December 1948 Royal Silver Wedding SG 136 - 137 Plus Illustrated First Day Cover

10 October 1949 - 75th Anniversary of Universal Postal Union - SG 138 - 141

QEII Commemoratives

	3 June 1953 Coronation SG 142 Designed by Bradbury Wilkinson Printed by De La Rue
		21 January 1960 75th Anniversary of Bechuanaland Protectorate SG 154 - 156

4 June 1963 Freedom from Hunger SG 182	2 September 1963 Red Cross Centenary SG 183 - 184		23 April 1964 400th Anniversary of William Shakespeare - SG 185

1 March 1965 New Constitution SG 186 - 189

17 May 1965 I.T.U. Centenary SG 190 - 191		25 October 1965 International Co-operation Year SG 192 -193

24 January 1966 Churchill Commemoration SG 194 - 197

1 June 1966 Bechuanaland Royal Marine Corps SG 198 - 201

Illustrations courtesy Alan MacGregor and Otto Peetoom

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