Trans-Juba (Jubaland; Ital., Oltre Giuba) stamps had a short span
of use, issued 29 July
1925 and continued to 1 June 1926 when Trans-Juba was
absorbed into Italian Somaliland. Britain had hoped to trade the northeastern
part of Kenya, then a part of what was known as British East Africa, to the
Italians in exchange for returning its occupied Aegean Islands to Greece, but Mussolini
rejected the swap. So, the British
agreed to give these 34,000 square miles to Italy unconditionally as
a reward for supporting the Allies during World War I.
All of Oltre Giuba’s
stamps are overprinted or inscribed Italian stamps of the mid-1920s, except for
a definitive series of seven with a map of the area. Presumably, Italy needed
to show where their war trophy is located. A strip of Kenya is shown on the
left side of the stamp, Italian Somalia on the right.
Canceled stamps generally
command higher prices than mint examples. Alas, I have none of the former. Bogus
cancels abound. About 20 years ago, my entire collection (see below) came from
a single feeder album.
Today, the former Jubaland is beset with the
major problems faced by the rest of independent Somalia – armed conflict,
piracy, lack of police protection, internally displaced people, physical abuse
and perpetual humanitarian crises.
Census: 35 in BB spaces, two on supplement page.
And a large portion of Italian colony stamps tend to be expensive.
But little "Oltre Giuba" is interesting enough. And, if one wants to feel a bit superior, ask your non-philatelic friends where "Oltre Giuba" was located.
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