Foreign telegraph stamps

By the mid-1870s, a number of countries had produced stamps for use to pre-pay telegraph charges. Private telegraph companies had also printed stamps to pay telegraph changes and serve as a receipt.

Examples of some telegraph stamps from other postal authorities are presented below.

Spain

1 Escudo. Issued 1866.

Marginal single with inscription.

Gartner June 2011 Lot 6905.

France

50c to Fr. 2. Issued 1868.

Gartner March 2011 Lot 9015.

Switzerland

50c blue and red.

Issued in 1868 as one of a set of six denominations from 25c to Fr. 3. Other issues with new colours or different paper were made in 1877 and 1881.

Strip of 5 used on a telegraph form.

Gartner August 2011 Lot 9141.

India

4 anna Electric Telegraph. Issued 1861.

Gartner Aug 2011 Lot 1295.

4 rupee Electric Telegraph. Issued 1861.

One of the great rarities of India and of world telegraph items.

Gartner August 2011 Lot 1298 (EUR 32,000).

Set of 12 Telegraph stamps.
Denominations 1a to 50 Rp.

Issued 1861.

Gartner August 2011 Lot 1299.

Great Britain

£1 brown overprinted SPECIMEN. Issued 1876.
Watremarked 3 shamrocks. Lettered DR.
Identical to the POSTAGE stamp issued in April 1884.

Gartner September 2012 Lot 8571.

£5 orange. Issued 1876.
Identical to the POSTAGE stamp issued in March 1882.

Used at Birmingham Telegraph Office 20 April 1878.

Gartner September 2012 Lot 8570.

Bayern

Set of 7 stamps.
Denominations from 10 pf. to 2 mk.

Issued 1876.

Gartner March 2011 Lot 12741.