The 1922 ¼a on ½a King George V Surcharge
In 1922 the ½a bright green and emerald value from the 1911-22 KGV issue was surcharged with ¼a due to a shortage of the 3 pies. The surcharge was prompted by the introduction of the new Imperial Inland postage rate of 9 pies which covered the rate for a letter weighing up to 1 tola. The last 9 pies stamp to be issued was part of the 1882-1890 Queen Victoria issue.
Definitive
The 1922 ¼a on ½a King George V Surcharge - Inverted Surcharge
The stamp is found with the surcharge inverted and with a slight slanting of the serif on the “1”. In addition to this it is found in horizontal pairs with one surcharge missing. Both green colors are found with on paper with the watermark inverted.
KOWEIT Overprint Essays - 1923
In 1923 the spelling of Kuwait changed, in postal terms, from KOWEIT to KUWAIT, something that happened prior to the issuing of the first Indian stamps overprinted with KUWAIT. However, Essays of the overprint using the obsolete spelling “KOWEIT” were prepared in early 1923 on all the original 27 stamps planned for release on April 1st 1923. 24 sets (two panes of 12) of the KOWEIT overprint Essays were made in settings of twelve at the Government Printing Works in Calcutta. All but seven sets were later taken from the Controller’s office leaving only 7 legitimate sets: A set of block of 4s in the Royal Collection, two sets sent to the then Viceroy and one set which the Deputy Director General, Rai Bahadur H.K. Raha, was permitted to keep. A London dealer by the name of Roberts obtained one lot (i.e. pane of 12) of the Essays in complete setting and had them photographed before breaking them up. Each of these twelve sets was numbered 1 to 12 in pencil on the back of the stamp.
Definitive
KOWEIT Overprint Essays - Service - 1923
In 1923 the spelling of Kuwait changed, in postal terms, from KOWEIT to KUWAIT, something that happened prior to the issuing of the first Indian stamps overprinted with KUWAIT. However, Essays of the overprint using the obsolete spelling “KOWEIT” were prepared in early 1923 on all the original 27 stamps planned for release on April 1st 1923. 24 sets (two panes of 12) of the KOWEIT overprint Essays were made in settings of twelve at the Government Printing Works in Calcutta. All but seven sets were later taken from the Controller’s office leaving only 7 legitimate sets: A set of block of 4s in the Royal Collection, two sets sent to the then Viceroy and one set which the Deputy Director General, Rai Bahadur H.K. Raha, was permitted to keep. A London dealer by the name of Roberts obtained one lot (i.e. pane of 12) of the Essays in complete setting and had them photographed before breaking them up. Each of these twelve sets was numbered 1 to 12 in pencil on the back of the stamp.
Definitive
The 1st King George V Official Issue – 1923
In 1923 Kuwait issued its first Service Issue which consisted of 13 values. The values issued were ½a Anna, 1 Anna, 1½ Annas, 2 Annas, 2½ Annas, 3 Annas (orange), 4 Annas, 8 Annas, 1 Rupee, 2 Rupees, 5 Rupees, 10 Rupees and 15 Rupees.
Service
The 1st King George V Definitive Issue – 1923
On the 1st of April 1923 the first set of stamps carrying the name of Kuwait were issued. The 1911-1922 Indian King George V issue was overprinted using the spelling “Kuwait” hence deviating from the earlier essays overprinted “KOWEIT”. A total of 14 values were issued with the following values: ½ Anna, 1 Anna, 1 ½ Anna, 2 Annas, 2 Annas 6 Pies, 3 Annas, 4 Annas, 6 Annas, 8 Annas, 12 Annas, 1 Rupee, 2 Rupees, 5 Rupees and 10 Rupees.
Definitive
The 1st King George V Definitive Issue – Inverted Overprint - 1923
A total of 7 values from the 1923 definitive Kuwait issue are known with an inverted overprint. The stamps were never sold at Kuwait Post Office and while they are genuine, as such, their origin is unknown.
