1922 British protectorate stamp is scarce and hard to find

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

The Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 lists stamps for two discrete British Africa entities with very similar names.

British Bechuanaland was a short-lived south African crown colony established on Sept. 30, 1885, and absorbed by Cape Colony on Nov. 16, 1895. Today it is part of South Africa.

Bechuanaland Protectorate is north of the Molopo River from British Bechuanaland. It became the Republic of Botswana on Sept. 30, 1966.

Stamps issued to show payment of taxes or exemption from payment of taxes are called revenue stamps. Stamps issued as revenue stamps that were subsequently authorized for postal use are called postal fiscal stamps. Between 1910 and 1922, Bechuanaland Protectorate issued three postal fiscal stamps.

Look for the 1-penny rose King George V South African postal fiscal stamp overprinted “Bechuanaland Protectorate” in two lines (Scott AR3). Issued as a revenue stamp, it was authorized for postal use in 1922.

The Scott Classic Specialized catalog values the stamp at $50 in unused, hinged condition. This stamp is scarce and hard to find. It is of interest to British Empire, southern Africa and world classic stamp collectors.

The stamp is a great buy in the $35 to $45 price range in unused, lightly hinged condition.

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