Great Britain post in Turkish empire year 1887 80 paras

Great Britain post in Turkish empire year 1887 80 paras MH stamp

• Britain maintained post offices in various Ottoman Empire cities (e.g., Constantinople, Smyrna, Beyrout) from the mid-1800s until WWI.
• Stamps used there were British definitives overprinted with new values in local currency — piastres (Pias.).
• The 1887 issue was part of Queen Victoria’s “Jubilee” definitives, overprinted for use in the Turkish Empire.

🏷 1887 Issue Details

• Base design: Queen Victoria “Jubilee” series, issued in Britain 1887–1900.
• Overprint: Black overprint with value in Turkish currency (e.g., “40 Paras”, “80 Paras”, “1 Piastre”, “2 Piastres 40 Paras”, etc.).
• Currency:
  • 40 Paras = 1 Piastre (Ottoman currency system)
• Cataloguing:
  • Scott lists these under “Great Britain Offices in the Turkish Empire”.
  • Stanley Gibbons (SG) has them under the “British Post Offices Abroad” section, Constantinople/Smyrna sub-listing.

🖼 Common Values in the 1887 Set

From Stanley Gibbons & Scott listings for Constantinople/Smyrna:

• 40 Paras on ½d vermilion
• 80 Paras on 1d lilac
• 1 Piastre on 2½d ultramarine
• 2 Piastres 40 Paras on 5d purple & blue
• 4 Piastres on 10d purple & carmine
• (Some values appear in more than one shade due to later reprints and paper variations)