Turkish Classical Stamp Bath Too Hot? Ten Helpful Hints

Complicated? Ten Hints to Help!

Into the Deep Blue
The Ottoman  stamp era is quite attractive to many WW collectors, but talk about all the confusing surcharged/overprinted stamps!

From 1865-1917, I count 656 overprinted/surcharged stamps! And Scott does little in the catalogue with few additional illustrations to make it more lucid.

And reviewing Turkish holdings in feeder albums- as well as my own! - shows rampant mistakes in stamp space placement.

And, of course, most WW collectors do not understand Turkish with the Arabic script.

All of this can be discouraging.

I can't guarantee all the Turkish stamp placement conundrums will be solved, but here are ten helpful (and basic!) hints....

Hint 0

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..0

Before we begin with the formal ten hint list, here is hint 0, perhaps the most important of all!

Life will be much easier for the WW collector of Turkish stamps if the collector becomes familiar with the numbering system. Be aware that  the "0" (dot) is often placed after another number, -say the 5, which will then make the number "50".

Hint 1

Crescent and Star Surcharged

1865 Scott 12 5pi carmine & 1867 Scott 18 5pi rose

The earlier 1865-1876 regular and postage due issues show the Crescent and Star, symbols of the Turkish caliphate. Almost all of the stamps are overprinted/surcharged. The characters at the top and sides translates roughly to "Ottoman Empire Posts" The bottom character denotes the surcharged denomination. The issues (1865,1867,1869,1874-75,1876) all have (sometimes slightly) different overprint characters. Note the (top and sides) character differences between the 1865 and 1867 issue stamps? (The bottom character will change with denominations.) One doesn't need to read Turkish Arabic script, just pay attention, and match the script to the correct issue.

Hint 2

Seal of the Ottoman Empire

Turkey...or Eastern Rumelia?

Turkey 1884 Scott 67 10pa green & pale green

Eastern Rumelia 1884 Scott 16 10pa green & pale green

Be aware that Eastern Rumelia can sneak into a Turkish collection, and vice-versa. Definitely have seen it in feeder albums.

Hint 3

Seal of the Ottoman Empire

Regular Issue...or Postage Due?

1886 Scott 74 5pa black & pale gray

1888 Scott J36 20pa black

Is the stamp a regular issue or a postage due? Sometimes the only major hint is the denomination.

Hint 4

Tughra in Arch Shaped Frame

1905 Issue...or 1906 "Discount" overprint issue?

10pa dull green, 20pa carmine, 1pi blue

Between 1901-1909, there were nine issues. These issues were overprinted/surcharged extensively in 1915-1917. It is helpful if the collector becomes familiar with the looks of each 1901-09 issue, so the 1915-17 surcharged/overprinted stamps can be properly placed.

This is the 1905 issue, with the "arch shaped frame".

But what is that horizontal flat "C" blue overprint on the 20pa carmine? (I've purposely placed some stamps in a mistaken space for "teaching" purposes for this blog post.)

From Scott....

"Stamps bearing this overprint were sold to merchants at a discount from face value to encourage the use of Turkish stamps on foreign correspondence, instead of those of the various European powers which maintained post offices in Turkey. The overprint is the Arab "B" for "Behie", meaning "discount"".

These "discount" stamps were initially issued, beginning in 1906. The "discount" overprint can be found also on a number of further surcharged/overprinted issues, so one needs to look for it to correctly identify the stamp.

Hint 5

Tughra and Inscription in Circle

1908 Issue....or 1909?

1909 Scott 153 20pa carmine rose

1908 Scott 135 & 136 1pi bright blue & 2pi blue black

The 1908 and 1909 "Inscription in Circle" stamps truly cause confusion with identification.

The 20pa carmine is a 1909 issue, while the 1pi bright blue & 2pi blue black are 1908 issues.

Let's take a closer look....

1908 Issue

The script inside the bottom half of the circle fills in completely, and the script to the right of the Tughra (which is actually part of the Tughra) is wider and fatter.

1909 Issue

The script inside the bottom half of the circle is separated from the circle edge, and the script to the right of the Tughra (again, actually part of the Tughra) is more narrow and thinner.

The 1909 issue reflects the Tughra and "Reshad" of Sultan Mohammed V.

Hint 6

On 1901 Domestic Issue

1915 "six pointed" or 1916 "five pointed" star

Overprint Issue?

5pa purple, 10pa green, 20pa carmine

In 1915, many previous issues (1892,1897,1901,1905,1906,1908,1909,1913) were overprinted with a crescent and star. The star is "six pointed" for the 1915 overprinted issues. If one has a "five pointed" star among the 1915 overprinted stamps, it doesn't belong there, as the "five pointed" star overprints were issued in 1916!

Hint 7

1916 "five pointed" star Overprint Issue

On 1905... or 1906 "Discount" Issue?

20pa carmine, 1pi bright blue, 2pi slate

In 1916, many previous issues (1892-98, 1897, 1901,1905,1906,1908,1908-09,1913,1916) were overprinted with a crescent and star. The star is "five pointed" for the 1916 overprinted issues.

Shown here are, at first glance, stamps that were issued in 1905.

But placed here, "by mistake" is a "discount" 1pi bright blue stamp (See the red horizontal flat "C"?), that is a 1906 stamp issue. The lesson here is one needs to carefully examine the stamps for the "discount" marking, as it may be difficult to see.

Hint 8

1915 "six star" overprint stamps

On 1913 "General Post Office, Constantinople" stamp issue

Regular issue ...or Semi-Postal?

10pa blue green & 1pi ultramarine

Semi-postal stamps were also created with an overprinted crescent in 1915 with a "six pointed" star or in 1916 with a "five pointed" star. The illustration here shows the "six pointed" 1915 variety.

But the crescent for semi-postals always is filled in with script. !! Note the 1pi ultramarine stamp does not belong here, as it is a "regular" 1915 issue.

One other "gotcha"- notice the "additional overprint" on the 10pa green? This is another example of a "discount" stamp, which has its own catalogue number.

Semi-Postal Crescent overprint: reads "For War Orphans"

Note the filled in script inside the overprinted crescent, which makes this a semi-postal stamp.

Hint 9

1901 Tughra in Oval Foreign Issue

Regular or Newspaper?

5pa bister, 10pa yellow green, 20pa magenta, 1pi violet blue, 2pi gray blue

Turkey also issued many newspaper stamps. From 1901-1917, most of the newspaper stamps produced were similar to regular issues, except they had a dense discrete script overprinted on them.

The 5pa bister and the 10pa yellow green illustrated above are newspaper stamps, and do not belong here among the regular issues.

Close-up of the Newspaper Script Overprint

Newspaper stamps can be found with many additional overprints/surcharges, but if they have this script, then one knows to place them in the Newspaper section pages of the album.

Hint 10

"Arms and Tughra of El Gazi Sultan Abdul Hamid"

1917 Overprinted or Surcharged on Preceding Issues

On Stamps of 1892-98, Red Overprint

Scott 477 20pa violet brown, Scott 478 2pi brown orange

Finally, in 1917, this characteristic overprint or surcharge was applied to preceding issues (1865,1867,1870-71,1874-75,1876,1880-84,1881-82,1884-86,1886,1888,1892-98,1901,1905,1908,1908-09,1913, 1916 regular issues, and postage dues and newspaper stamps).

I don't know why, but the overprint reminds me of an apple. ;-)  (BTW, the "star" is always a "five pointed" star.)

1917 Scott 505 20pa carmine, black overprint

On 1906 "Discount" stamp with blue overprint

1917 Scott 544 10pa green & pale green

Overprinted in Black on Eastern Rumelia 1884 Scott 16

Here are a couple more examples of the 1917 "apple" overprint.

Note, in this case, the overprint was applied to a "discount" 1906 20pa carmine stamp.

And remember "Eastern Rumelia"? Well, if one finds the "apple" overprint on an Eastern Rumelia stamp, it is actually catalogued as a Turkey stamp. ;-)

One other cautionary note: Scott states, with the "apple" overprint, forgeries abound.

1865 Scott 11 2pi blue

Crescent and Star, Symbols of Turkish Caliphate

Out of the Blue

I now feel ready to tackle the classical Turkish stamps - the "Turkish bath" does not seem quite as hot. I hope you do too.

Comments appreciated!