This is a survey of the

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...

and

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, formerly known as the

French Oceania )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

. The first postage stamps used in French Polynesia were the general stamps of the

French Colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...

from 1862. In 1882 a shortage of 25c stamps necessitated a surcharge on less-used values. Some of the surcharges also included the name "TAHITI". This happened again in 1884 with 5c and 10c values. Stamps inscribed "Établissements de l’Oceanie" (French Settlements in Oceania) became available in 1892 with the

Navigation and Commerce issue The Navigation and Commerce issue is a series of key type stamps issued for the colonial territories of France. It was designed by Louis-Eugène Mouchon. The issue uses a standard design featuring allegorical representations of navigation and co ...

. In 1893, two kinds of

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative pur ...

were applied to the remaining stocks of regular and postage due French Colonies stamps; one type was a slanted overprint reading "TAHITI" and the other was a horizontal "1893 / TAHITI". For some values of stamps, very few were left to be overprinted, and genuine overprints are quite rare, the rarest being the horizontal overprint on the 25c yellow at around US$20,000. In 1903, due to a shortage of 10c stamps, stamps of French Oceania were overprinted "TAHITI" and surcharged with new face values. Stamps of French Oceania also received a red cross and "TAHITI" overprint in 1915 for use as semi-postal stamps. Stamps since 1958 have been inscribed "French Polynesia". File:1893 French stamp for use in Tahiti.jpg, A 20c French Colonies stamp overprinted for use in Tahiti, 1893 File:A 1924 stamp of the French Oceanic Settlements.jpg, A 1924 stamp of French Oceania File:Tahiti 1937 cover.jpg, A 1937 letter from Tahiti to New Zealand bearing stamps of French Oceania and a New Zealand postage due stamp File:DerTraum.jpg, A 1976 stamp of French Polynesia

External links

Evert Klaseboer Tahiti pages.Philatelic Center of French Polynesia

References and sources

;References ;Sources *

Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...

Ltd: various catalogues
''Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities''
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986. {{Philately-stub Communications in French Polynesia

See also

External links

References and sources