Big Blue 1840-1940

A is for Aden and Z is for Zanzabar

Friday, May 1, 2026

Ubangi-Shari - Bud's Big Blue

1915-22 Ubangi-Shari in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)

Jim's Observations

Ubangi-Shari (Oubangui-Chari) was a central African French territory and colony from 1903-1958, when it became the Central African Republic.

The French had established the Bangi (Bangui) outpost along the Ubangi river in 1889, and the territory was named after the rivers Ubangi and Chari.

Administratively, the territory was attached and detached to other French entities during it's existence.

Ubangi-Shari was established on December 29, 1903 from the heretofore named French Congo (Gabon-Congo) territory, after the French victory over the Egyptian Abbas II. The French Congo was renamed the Middle Congo (Moyen Congo), also in 1903.

On February 11, 1906, the Lake Chad area was added, and the territory was known as Ubangi-Shari-Chad. Ubangi-Shari-Chad was a dependency, and attached to the Middle Congo. Middle Congo stamps were used there.

On January 15, 1910, the territories of Ubangi-Shari, Middle Congo, and Gabon were administratively merged as the French Equatorial Africa Federation. This was a federation that existed from 1910-1934, similar to the French West Africa colonies federation.

The first issue for Ubangi-Shari proper was released in 1915, and consisted of Middle Congo stamps that were overprinted "Oubangui-Chari-Chad".

Beginning on April 12, 1916, Ubangi-Shari was separately administered.

The Lake Chad portion of the territory was removed from Ubangi-Shari in 1920, and the stamps, beginning in 1922, now were overprinted "Oubangui-Chari".

But, portending things to come, the stamp issues were additionally overprinted "Afrique Equatoriale Francaise", beginning in 1924.

Stamp production for Ubangi-Shari continued through 1933.

From 1934-1958, the territory was merged into the French Equatorial Africa colony.

Ubangi-Shari stamps were replaced by those of French Equatorial Africa in 1936.

During WW II, Vichy France controlled the territory from June-August, 1940, when it was captured by the Free French Forces.

In 1946, Ubangi-Shari becomes an overseas territory.

In 1958, self government was achieved, and, on August 13, 1960, full independence as the Central African Republic.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Ubangi-Shari 1915-1931, 109 major stamp descriptions. Of those, 43 are CV <$1-$1+, or 39%. Many of the rest of the stamps are CV only a few dollars more. Clearly, Ubangi-Chari, ( And the classical French colonial stamps in general) are reasonably affordable for the WW collector. (British colonial stamps, while a % are affordable, tend to be more expensive.)

Many of the stamps for Ubangi-Shari are overprinted "types" of the French "Middle Congo" issues. They are "types", because Ubangi-Shari's stamps are in different color combinations compared to the original "Middle Congo" issues. That certainly makes the Ubangi-Shari issues more attractive, and one doesn't have to worry that there could be a fake overprint on a Middle Congo stamp if the Ubangi-Shari stamp is more valuable CV wise.

Big Blue '69 has three pages and 79 spaces for the stamps of "Ubangi". The coverage is located between "Turkey in Asia" and Ukrainia. Coverage is a robust 72%.

The 40s editions have the spaces arranged differently, and there are 77 spaces total.

There is only one "expensive" (CV $10+) stamp required for the spaces.

For maps and more on the stamps themselves, click on the link below.

Ubangi-Shari Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Supplements

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Monday, April 27, 2026

Turks islands - Bud's Big Blue

1882-94 Turks Islands in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

Jim's Observations

Two groups of islands in the northern Caribbean (The larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands), separated by the Turks Passage (2,200 m or 7,200 ft deep), have always been associated with each other. But Grand Turk Island was the first island colonized by Bermudians for the salt industry in 1681. Cockburn Town became the capital in 1766, and Grand Turk Island- sometimes referred to historically as "Grand Cay" - remains the cultural and historical center of the islands group.

Stamps were issued for the island groups under "Turks Islands" from 1867-1894, while "Turks and Caicos Islands" labeled stamps were issued after 1900. As the Scott catalogue has separate discrete sections for each era, I will focus on "Turks Islands" here.

As mentioned, the Turks Islands were noted for salt, which was mined by raking salt among the shallow waters around the islands, and that industry drove the initial settlement in 1681. After the American War of Independence, British loyalists were the first settlers in 1783 on the Caicos Islands.

The Islands group became part of the Bahamas in 1799. (Bermuda and the Bahamas had both desired the islands for themselves, and "ownership" was disputed between the two throughout the 18th century.) The Turks and Caicos became a separate colony in 1848, under the supervision of Jamaica. Then the Islands group was annexed to the Jamaica colony in 1873. They remained a dependency of Jamaica until 1959.

The Islands group has never had much of a population. Even today, Grand Turk Island has only 4,000+ people, while Providenciales Island, with the largest population in the Caicos, has 33,000+.

Presently, the Turks and Caicos is a British Overseas Territory, and, since 2002, the inhabitants have full British citizenship.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Turks Islands 1867-1894, 58 major number descriptions.

Of those, eight stamps are CV $2-$5. (14%)

The catalogue for Turks Islands, based on CV, can be divided into two sections.

I) The 1867, 1873-79 & 1881 "Queen Victoria" stamps (all the same A1 design) for Turks Islands, and then the many surcharged stamps of 1867-79 based on these "Victoria" A1 issues (43 stamps total), are all quite expensive ($50+ minimum-$hundreds-$thousands). This is clearly an arena for the wealthier specialist.

II) 1881-1894 issues- A1, A2, A3 "Victoria" designs (15 stamps) are generally much more modest in cost ($2-$10+ for 11 stamps).

Postage stamps inscribed Turks and Caicos Islands were then used after 1900.

Big Blue '69, on two lines, shared on the same page with Tahiti and the beginning of Turks and Caicos Islands, has seven spaces. All of the spaces are from the less expensive 1882-1894 era.

There is one "most expensive ($35)" stamp- the 1883 Scott 44 1p orange brown. Since BB specifies the "orange brown" color for the 1p, by rights, this expensive stamp should be put into the space. But there also was an 1889 Scott 45 1p carmine lake (perf 14), and an 1887 Scott 54 1p carmine lake (perf 12) issued. Perhaps they could be candidates for the Turks Islands blank spaces in BB.

Of interest, the 40s BB editions also have an 8th space, which is a blank space, under the 1894-95 year heading. The blank space in the 40s editions is puzzling. Both the current 2014 Scott catalogue, and the 1947 Scott catalogue only show one 1894 stamp (Scott 57) available, and there are no further entries after 1894. What would one put in there?

For more on the stamps themselves, click on the link below.

Turks Islands Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Supplements

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Thursday, April 23, 2026

Turks and Caicos Islands - Bud's Big Blue

1909 Turks and Caicos Islands in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

Jim's Observations

Turks & Caicos Islands are a group of West Indies islands at the southern end of the Bahamas. But they were separated politically from the Bahamas in 1848, a celebratory date that is well noted on their 1900-08 stamps.

But the celebration of independence should be muted at best, as, in reality, they were under the supervision of Jamaica. In fact, the islands were formally annexed to the Jamaica colony in 1873, and they remained a dependency of Jamaica until 1959.

The islands were named after the Turk's cap (head) cactus, and the Lucayo (Bahamian) subdialect "cayo hico" term, which means "string of islands".

The capital was and is Grand Turk, and the population was ~5,600 circa 1910.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Turks & Caicos Islands 1900-1950, 130 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 75 are CV <$1-$1+, or 58%. As a British sphere colony, Turks & Caicos Islands stamps are moderately expensive at times, but the WW collector should be able to form a representative collection without much difficulty.

The 1867-1894 earlier stamps for the islands are found under "Turks Islands" in the Scott catalogue.

Big Blue '69, on 1 1/2 pages, has 51 spaces for the 1900-1938 stamps of Turks & Caicos Islands. The country coverage is located between "Trinidad and Tobago" and "Tripolitania".

Coverage, adjusted for the years 1900-38, is 51%.

Sadly, the '69 editors dropped the four spaces for the 1917-19 War stamps found in the 1940s editions. (Even that was inadequate, as there are actually 13 major number war stamps issued, 11 of which are CV <$1-$1+.)

There are no expensive stamps required ($10+), although the 1925 Scott 47 1 1/2p rose red is close @ CV $9.

For more, click on the link below.

Turks and Caicos Islands Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Supplements

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Sunday, April 19, 2026

Turkey in Asia - Bud's Big Blue

1922 Turkey in Asia in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

Jim's Observations

On November 13, 1918, Constantinople (Istanbul) was occupied by French and British troops. The Ottoman Empire collapsed, and the breakup of the Empire was initiated with the August 10, 1920 Treaty of Sevres.

But the hostile terms of the treaty brought forth a vigorous nationalistic movement, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The Turkish nationalists fought the Turkish War of Independence. The Nationalist Government was formed in Anakara, and outside of an area around Constantinople, Turkey was controlled by them.

The stamps of the era are referred to as "Turkey in Asia" or "Anatolia". From 1920 to 1922, stocks of old stamps were overprinted, or revenue stamps were handstamped "Osmanli Postalari 1336" for postal use.

The Turkish War of Independence was successful, with the overthrow of the Ottoman Sultanate, the forced withdrawal of Allied forces from Anatolia, and, finally, the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

The Republic was proclaimed on October 29, 1923 in the capital of Ankara. Mustafa Kemal was elected as first President.

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Turkey in Asia 1920-1922, 108 major number descriptions. Of those, 15 are CV <$1-$1+, or 14%. The fact is most of the 1920-21 overprinted or surcharged Revenue or Turkish stamps are fairly expensive (CV $tens to $hundreds to $thousands), and naturally the WW collector will not have many. But, the 1922 lithographic pictorial issues are more reasonable, CV wise.

Big Blue '69, on 1/2 page (shared with Turkey Air Post on the last page of the the Turkey country pages), has twelve spaces for the lithographic issues of 1922. Big Blue, probably wisely, ignores all the overprinted or surcharged earlier 1920-21 issues that generally have a high CV.

Coverage is 11%.

There are no expensive (Threshold CV $10) stamps required.

As mentioned, the coverage is confined to the 1922 lithographic pictorial issue- a truncated seven spaces-, and the 1922 "Parliament House, Ankara" issue- a truncated five spaces.

Turkey in Asia Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Turkey - Bud's Big Blue

1865-74 Turkey in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

Jim's Observations

Turkey is located in Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

The Ottoman Empire reigned from there between 1299 - 1922, and then the Republic of Turkey was born in 1923.

The Ottoman Empire issued its first postage stamp on January 1, 1863 with the "Tughra", the calligraphic monogram of Sultan Adul-Aziz.

Between 1865-1876, the "Crescent and Star", enclosed by a central oval, and symbols of the Turkish Caliphate, were used on the so-called typographic "Duloz" stamp issues.

The Ottoman Empire joined the General Postal Union (then the Universal Postal Union) in 1876. A new Empire issue was released, with the name of the country and values in both western script and Arabic script, and was intended for use to countries within the UPU.

The 1901-1911 issues all had the Tughra of the reigning monarch.

WW I proved the end of the Ottoman Empire, who had entered the war in 1914 on the side of the Central Powers. The Allies occupied Constantinople.

The Sultinate was abolished by the National Assembly on November 1, 1922.

Turkey was declared a republic on October 28, 1923, under the leadership of President Mustafa Kemal.

The "Star and Crescent" design of the first stamp issue of the Republic of Turkey marked the end of the use of the "Tughra", which had been on most stamps from 1863-1922.

Note that "Constantinople" was officially changed to "Istanbul" in 1930.

The capital was and is Ankara, and the population was 17,800,000 in 1940.

he 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for the Turkish (Ottoman) Empire and Turkey 1863-1942, 1303 major number descriptions. Of those, 594 are CV <$1-$1+, or 46%.

The Ottoman Empire became the second independent country in Asia (after Russia) to issue stamps in 1863, when there were 63 domestic post offices. They were a founding member of the Universal Postal Union in 1875.

Turkey is a world of its own with many overprints and surcharges. The stamps reflect the "Ottoman Empire" to 1922, and then the "Republic of Turkey" beginning in 1923.

The stamps reward the careful WW collector that is willing to pay attention to the many complicated - at first glance, and even second glance- overprinted and surcharged issues.

Note: To help with the numerous overprinted/surcharged Ottoman Empire stamps, I published a "Turkish Classical Stamp Bath Too Hot? Ten Helpful Hints" post - See link below.

Big Blue '69, on 14 1/2 pages, has 394 spaces for the stamps of Turkey (Turkey in Asia will be treated separately). The categories included are regular issues, postage due, semi-postal, postal tax, and air post. Coverage is 30%.

The 14 1/2 pages and the 394 spaces is the most coverage by BB of any of the remaining T-Z countries.

Newspaper stamps (one whole page- 33 spaces) were included in the 1940s editions, but gone entirely in the '69 edition.

There are only nine stamps that are "expensive" ($10-$30).

For much more on Turkey, check out the links below.

Turkey Blog Post & BB Checklist

Turkey overprints - ten hints

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