![IXLeipzigerBriefmarken-HandlermesseCentraltheater1926-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/IXLeipzigerBriefmarken-HandlermesseCentraltheater1926-2.jpg)
In
philately
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...
, private overprints or commercial overprints are
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 ...
s applied to
postage stamp
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 ...
s,
postal stationery
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related serv ...
or
revenue stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...
s by anyone other than the official stamp-issuing entity. These overprints have principally been used as a security measure,
[Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. ''The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia''. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p. 195.] however, propaganda and commemorative examples are also known. When overprinted for security purposes, they serve a similar function to
perfins
In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called ''SPIFS'' (Stamps Perforated wi ...
. It is important to distinguish between private overprints and
private cancellations.
Background
Private overprints have been used for a number of reasons. Generally they cannot be used as control marks, as the stamp or stamps are thus rendered invalid for prepayment of postage (though some such invalid stamps have successfully passed through the mails, presumably due to an oversight of postal employees). However, while in Great Britain privately overprinted stamps usually served as receipts for tax payments, in 1859, upon application of the Oxford Union Society, there was a unique instance of a private overprint being approved for application on the face of stamps.
[Private Postal Overprints](_blank)
20 September 2001. Retrieved 11 July 2013 from Internet Archive. This is to be distinguished from the more or less frequent application of private overprints to the back of stamps as control marks.
![Harrods Limited commercial overprint on British 2d dark colours definitive stamp of 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Harrods_Limited_commercial_overprint_on_British_2d_dark_colours_definitive_stamp_of_1938.jpg)
In Great Britain, commercial overprints were principally used to pay the tax on receipts and are found on both revenue and postage stamps with a great number of different varieties known between the 1880s and 1970s.
Other countries which had commercial overprints include Canada, Ceylon, India, Kenya & Uganda, New South Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the Straits Settlements and Victoria.
Private overprints can also originate from speculative philatelic purposes produced deliberately with a view to selling them to unsuspecting collectors.
Political causes
Private overprints have been used to express political opinions, or to commemorate events by creating collectors' items in cases in which the overprinted stamps cannot be used. For instance, German sympathisers in the
Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
privately overprinted Czechoslovakian stamps with
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
s before the annexation, and in Italy, after the fall of
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
and his establishment of the Italian Social Republic, stamps of the King were overprinted with fasces by
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
sympathizers.
In the United States
Private overprints have also been used in the United States, though the Domestic Mail Manual states that stamps "overprinted with an unauthorized design, message or other marking" are not valid for postage.
Domestic Mail Manual
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
, 2013, Section 604.1.3 A private overprint exists on the Florida commemorative, and during the Vietnam War, a woman privately overprinted the stamps on her outgoing mail with the slogan "Pray for War" before postal authorities compelled her to move this stamping away from the stamps. There have been several American examples of postal card
Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Correspo ...
s being overprinted with a private overprint revaluation shortly after a rate change, including the Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...
's authorization of a special Pitney-Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is an American technology company most known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment and services, and with expansions into e-commerce, software, and other technologies. The company was founded by Arthur Pitney, who i ...
Tickometer surcharge to be used to revalue postal cards in the possession of General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
when the postcard rate went up to 3 cents in August 1958. The USPS also authorised overprinting of the 10¢ Tractor Trailer and 5¢ Canoe Transportation coil stamps.
See also
* Perfin
In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called ''SPIFS'' (Stamps Perforated wit ...
* Underprint
An underprint is anything printed underneath the main design of a stamp, banknote or similar item. Underprinting is used as a security measure to prevent forgery, or the cleaning of a postmark from a used stamp. Mackay, James. ''Stamp Collecting: ...
References and sources
;References
;Sources
* GBOS. ''Bogus overprints. Website Great Britain Overprints Society
Online article
/cite>
External links
{{commons category, Commercial overprints
GB Victoria Protective Overprints and Underprints
Philatelic terminology