Postage Due
These stamps were used when mail was sent without enough postage. If someone handed in an envelop at the post office, of course, they wouldn’t accept it without the correct postage. However, if someone put an envelop in a public mail box, rather than return the envelop to the sender, they would put postage due stamps for the deficient amount and deliver it, expecting the recipient to pay the cost of them. If they didn’t pay, only then would the envelop be returned to the sender.
Postage due stamps are almost always very plain, perhaps because their use was not encouraged. The first two here, used in the 1860s, are very simple and weren’t perforated. The twelve in the second set are a little more refined and perforated, but still fairly dull looking. Starting in 1884, they tried to improve the look a bit, changing the size. Still dull, though.
Note
Now that I’m starting to acquire the stamps for this page, I’m realizing that I misunderstood that the last two stamps are different for this page – the blank spots on the last row. They were used for postage due on packages, not for paying in advance like the others. They should be separated from the others on this page. Also, they’re larger than the space I allocated for them. So I need to redo this page.
Contains 13 spots: own 8 – 8 unused, 0 used.
Album or Web Page Last changed Feb 4, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
Postage Due - Overprint I
✓ |
S1 |
5c (apr 1903) |
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✓ |
S2 |
10c (apr 1903) |
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✓ |
S3 |
20c (apr 1903) |
|||
✓ |
S4 |
30c (apr 1903) |
|||
✓ |
S5 |
40c (apr 1903) |
|||
S6 |
50c (apr 1903) |
||||
✓ |
S7 |
60c (apr 1903) |
|||
✓ |
S8 |
1₤ (apr 1903) |
|||
✓ |
S9 |
2₤ (apr 1903) |
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S10 |
5₤ (apr 1903) |
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S11 |
10₤ (apr 1903) |
Postage Due - Parcels
S12 |
50₤ (nov 1903) |
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S13 |
100₤ (nov 1903) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
