Forerunner (stamp)
Encyclopedia
In philately
, a forerunner is a postage stamp
used before a region or territory issued stamps of its own. The term also includes stamps of the political predecessors of a country. For instance stamps of the state of Western Australia
are forerunners of Australia
today and stamps of the British Mandate for Palestine are forerunners of modern Israel
.
or Cyprus
, before those territories had their own stamps and those overprinted stamps are forerunners. Stamps of Britain used abroad but not marked for the specific use in a colony may also be regarded as forerunners if their use in a colony can be identified by the postmark.
(Ireland) or the Jewish National Fund
(Israel) have been regarded as forerunners despite not being valid for postal use.
s produced by overprint
ing are official stamps of a country, even if old stamps are used, and thus are not considered to be forerunners.
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
, a forerunner is a postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
used before a region or territory issued stamps of its own. The term also includes stamps of the political predecessors of a country. For instance stamps of the state of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
are forerunners of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
today and stamps of the British Mandate for Palestine are forerunners of modern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
British colonies
Many British colonies used British stamps overprinted with the name of the colony, for instance MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
or Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, before those territories had their own stamps and those overprinted stamps are forerunners. Stamps of Britain used abroad but not marked for the specific use in a colony may also be regarded as forerunners if their use in a colony can be identified by the postmark.
Propaganda stamps
Although the term 'forerunner' is normally restricted to stamps which are official issues of a territory, some "stamps" issued by political movements such as Sinn FéinSinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
(Ireland) or the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
(Israel) have been regarded as forerunners despite not being valid for postal use.
Provisional stamps
Provisional stampProvisional stamp
Linn's World Stamp Almanac defines a provisional stamp as "a postage stamp issued for temporary use to meet postal demands until new or regular stocks of stamps can be obtained."...
s produced by overprint
Overprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail...
ing are official stamps of a country, even if old stamps are used, and thus are not considered to be forerunners.