This is a survey of the

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 f ...

s and postal history of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

base. The philately of Gibraltar is inexorably linked to its strategic position and military connections.

First stamps

The first stamps specifically marked Gibraltar were stamps of Bermuda overprinted as such and issued in January 1886. Before that British and Spanish stamps were used according to the type of mail and other arrangements were in place before the invention of postage stamps. British stamps used in Gibraltar may be identified by the use of cancels containing the numeral A26 or the letter G in oval bars. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986, p.54.

Queen Victoria

From November 1886 Gibraltar had its own stamps including the word Gibraltar in the design with seven values from 1/2d to 1 shilling. From 1889 these stamps were overprinted in centimos until British currency began to be used again in 1898.

The Four Kings

Between 1903 and 1950 a variety of definitive and commemorative stamps were issued for the reigns of King Edward VII, George V and George VI. No stamps were issued by Gibraltar for King Edward VIII. Image:Stamp Gibraltar 1903 2.5p.jpg, Gibraltar two and a half penny

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

stamp of 1903 Image:Gibraltarwartax0,5penny1918-MR1.jpg, Gibraltar half penny

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

stamp of 1918 overprinted war tax Image:Stamp Gibraltar 1943 1.5p.jpg, Gibraltar three half pence King George VI stamp of 1943

Queen Elizabeth II

The first stamp of Gibraltar for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II was the 1/2d Coronation commemorative omnibus stamp issued on 2 June 1953. The post in Gibraltar is currently run by the

Royal Gibraltar Post Office The Royal Gibraltar Post Office is the postal services in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is currently a department within the Government of Gibraltar. History The Gibraltar Post Office has been running for over 150 years, a ...

which in 2005 was granted the title of "''Royal''" by Her Majesty the Queen. Gibraltar is now the only Commonwealth or British Overseas Territory outside the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

that bears this distinction. The Gibraltar Post Office is now known as the Royal Gibraltar Post Office.

Post & Go stamps Post & Go stamps, also called Faststamps, are variable rate postage stamps printed on self-adhesive labels and sold by stamp vending machines by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom, as well as by Jersey Post, Guernsey Post, the Royal Gibraltar Post ...

for Gibraltar were first issued in 2015.

Postal stationery

In 1886 three items of

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 ...

were issued in Gibraltar by overprinting 2d registered envelopes from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, ½d

newspaper wrapper In philately a wrapper is a form of postal stationery which pays the cost of the delivery of a newspaper or a periodical. The wrapper is a sheet of paper, large enough to wrap around a folded or rolled newspaper and with an imprinted stamp to pay ...

s from

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, ½d

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s from Natal and 1d postcards from St Vincent. The following year the three items of postal stationery were issued inscribed ''Gibraltar''. In 1889 Spanish currency was introduced and all the postal stationery was overprinted with new values in cents. Later the same year all the postal stationery was printed and issued inscribed in the new currency.

Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog In philately, the ''Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog'' is the most recent encyclopedic catalogue of postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, ...

In 1898 British currency was reintroduced; all the postal stationery was printed and issued in British currency. Newspaper wrappers were last issued in 1938 and discontinued when stocks run out.

Letter card In philately, a lettercard or letter card is a postal stationery item consisting of a folded card with a prepaid imprinted stamp. That it is folded over gives the writer twice as much room for the message compared with a postal card. The messag ...

s were briefly available with two issues, one in 1933 and the other in 1938 after which they were discontinued. Envelopes were issued in 1935 only and then discontinued.

Aerogramme An aerogram, aerogramme, aérogramme, air letter or airletter is a thin lightweight piece of foldable and gummed paper for writing a letter for transit via airmail, in which the letter and envelope are one and the same. Most postal administration ...

s were first introduced in 1955.

First stamps

Queen Victoria

The Four Kings

Queen Elizabeth II

Postal stationery

See also

References

Further reading