Postage stamps of Batum under British occupation facts for kids
Batumi (which was once called Batum) is a city located on the coast of the Black Sea. It is the capital of Adjara, a special region in southwest Georgia. At the start of World War I, Batumi was controlled by Russia. However, local problems led to Turkey taking over the city in April 1918. Then, the British arrived in December 1918 and stayed until July 1920.
Stamps from British Batumi
During the time the British controlled Batumi, they started to run out of postage stamps. So, in February 1919, the British government there decided to make its own stamps.
The Aloe Tree Stamps
These new stamps were special. They were imperforate, meaning they did not have tiny holes between them to make them easy to tear apart. Each stamp showed an aloe tree. They also had words in Russian: БАТУМСКАЯ ПОЧТА (BATUMSKAYA POCHTA), which means "Batum Post."
Later, the British added words like "BRITISH OCCUPATION" on top of these stamps. They also printed new values on the old Russian stamps that were still left. This was called an overprint or a surcharge.
Changing Stamp Values
During this time, prices for things went up very quickly. This is called inflation. Because of inflation, the tree stamps that once cost only 5 kopecks (a small amount of money) had to be reprinted with much higher values, up to 50 rubles.
Even though the British only ruled Batumi for a short time, many of the aloe tree stamps still exist today. However, the Russian stamps that were overprinted by the British are quite rare. In 2003, some of these rare stamps were worth more than US$500!
Fake Stamps
It is important to know that many fake stamps exist. These are called forgeries. There are fake versions of both the original aloe tree stamps and the ones with British overprints. Stamp collectors need to be careful!
See also
- Revenue stamps of Batum
