Postage stamps and postal history of Azerbaijan
The postage stamps and postal history of Azerbaijan describes the history of
Russian Empire
The modern postal service in Azerbaijan began in the early 19th century, when Azerbaijan became a part of the
were in used in the territory of Azerbaijan from 1858. The early postmarks were composed of dots in different shapes. Dated postmarks with city names soon followed.Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The first stamps of Azerbaijan were issued in 1919 by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and consisted of a set of ten pictorial designs to 50r. There are two distinct printings, a 1919 printing on white paper with whitish gum and a 1920 printing on buff paper with yellow gum or no gum. The first printing is scarcer and forgeries of it exist.[2]
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
On 27 April 1920 the Soviet army entered the capital Baku and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was created, which became a part of the Soviet Union (USSR). The first stamps of the ASSR were issued in 1921 and consisted of a set of 15 stamps showing local and political scenes including an oil well and a mosque. Further stamps were issued in 1921 for famine relief and overprints with local control inscriptions in 1922.[2] However the 1923 famine relief stamps of Azerbaijan are bogus, and these were subsequently forged.[3] The republic was periodically recognized in sets of stamps honoring the different parts of the USSR. During the entire Soviet period about 60 stamps with Azerbaijani nationalistic and ethnic topics were issued by the central USSR government itself, featuring prominent figures, buildings, flora, fauna, and other subjects related to Azerbaijan.[2]
Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
On 12 March 1922, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia were federated as the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR). Azerbaijani stamps were overprinted first in Azeri currency, then Transcaucasian roubles. Overprinted country-wide Soviet stamps were issued in 1923. From 1 October 1923, ASSR stamps were replaced completely by stamps of the TSFSR which were used until the dissolution of the TSFSR and the second refounding of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) in 1936. The stamps of the ASSR were issued again along with the country-wide Soviet stamps which were used until the dissolution of the ASSR and the Soviet Union in 1991.[2]
Republic of Azerbaijan
On 19 November 1990, the ASSR was renamed the Republic of Azerbaijan. It became an independent country on 18 August 1991 and its first stamp was issued on 26 March 1992 to mark its independence. Unlike most other ex-Soviet republics, Azerbaijan did not overprint Soviet stamps to meet their postal needs after independence.[4] The national postal service
See also
- Azermarka, the company responsible for the production and sale of stamps
- Azərpoçt, the national postal service of Azerbaijan
- List of people on stamps of Azerbaijan
References and sources
- References
- ^ Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
- ^ ISBN 0-85259-652-9
- ISBN 0-4348-6640-7
- ^ Miller, Rick. "Overprinted Soviet stamps: quest or quagmire?". Linn's Stamp News. Archived from the original on 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Home page". Azərpoçt. Archived from the original on 2011-03-09.
- ^ "Post stamps". Azermarka.
- ^ "Azerbaijan". Universal Postal Union.
- ^ "First day cover". Azermarka.
- ^ "Envelopes with stamps". Azermarka.
- ^ "Azerbaijan - Illegal Issues of Postage Stamps". Philatelic Webmasters Organization.
- Sources
- Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
- ISBN 978-5-85-387022-2.
- Rossiter, Stuart & Fowler, John (1991). World History Stamp Atlas (reprint ed.). Black Cat. ISBN 0-7481-0309-0.
External links
- Azerbaijan - Postage Stamp Issues. Universal Postal Union
- Azərmarka National stamp company of Azerbaijan
- Azərpost National postal service of Azerbaijan
- Stamp Issuing Entities Of The World Linn's Stamp News
- Stamps of the World (SOTW) - Catalogue for Azerbaijan
- Encyclopaedia of Postal History