This is a survey of the

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 f ...

and postal history of

Muscat and Oman The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ( ar, سلطنة مسقط وعمان, Salṭanat Masqaṭ wa-‘Umān), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the prese ...

, including the present day

Sultanate of Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

First post offices

1944 1 rupee Indian stamp for use in Oman

The first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

to open in the region was at

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

on 1 May 1864. This was originally under the

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

circle but it was transferred to the

Sind Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

(

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

) circle in April 1869 and then back to Bombay in 1879. Postal control briefly passed to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

after the Partition of India and then to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

First stamps

Muscat and Oman first used the stamps of India, then Pakistan, then British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia. Indian stamps were used from 1 May 1864 until 19 December 1947. Stamps of Pakistan were used from 20 December 1947 until 31 March 1948 and the British agency stamps from 1 April 1948 until 29 April 1966.Rossiter & Flower, p.226. The first stamps specific to Muscat were an Indian issue with

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

s on 20 November 1944 to commemorate the bicentenary of the Al-Busaid Dynasty. The issue in fifteen values from three pice to two rupees was the 1940–43 Indian definitive set, featuring

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

, overprinted in Arabic script with "AL BUSAID 1363". The first British agency stamps were George VI definitives carrying surcharges ranging from one half

anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

to two rupees. Gibbons recorded twelve different issues of surcharged British stamps in Muscat, with varying numbers of values. These issues were mostly definitives but included some commemoratives such as the 1949 Universal Postal Union and 1957 World Scout Jubilee Jamboree sets.Gibbons, "Muscat" section. After the British agency closed, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman assumed postal control from 30 April 1966. Stamps inscribed ''Muscat & Oman'' were issued from 1966, before finally issuing stamps as the ''Sultanate of Oman'' on 16 January 1971. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986, p.226.

References

Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue Of Stamps And Covers: 1840 - 1940. Amos Media, Sydney, Ohio. The standard USA reference for classic stamps, including Oman 1944 to 1954. Issued annually.

External links

Online catalogue of the stamps of Oman
{{philately-stub Communications in Oman

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

History of Muscat, Oman Philately of Oman

First post offices

First stamps

See also

References

Further reading

External links