Egypt Pre-1900
 

Egypt Pre 1900

1866 Turkish Suzerainty
The first issue of Egyptian stamps compris
ed 7 definitives overprinted in Turkish.

Balian
[1]
Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
1 1 1 1866 5 pa grey 35.00 / 25.00
2 2 2 1866 10 pa brown 55.00 / 28.00
3 3 3 1866 20 pa blue 70.00 / 28.00
4 7 4 1866 1 pi purple 60.00 / 4.50
5 4 5 1866 2 pi yellow 90.00 / 40.00
6 5 6 1866 5 pi pink £250 / £170 o
7 6 7 1866 10 pi grey £275 / £250 o

Scott includes, as #7 a 1 pi rose lilac, which I assume is SG's #4. I think the differentiation is because this is the only unwatermarked stamp of this series.

There were four editions of stamps featuring the Sphinx in front of a pyramid, identifiable as follows:

1867 The Sphinx is in front of the pyramid.
1872 (and 1874) the Sphinx has moved to the left.

 

1879 has Postes Egyptiennes at the top.

Although the central design was consistent for the next two issues, there were variations in the stamp frame  between denominations.

1888 has Postes Egyptiennes at the bottom.

 

1867 Definitives

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
11 8 11 1867 5 pa yellow 25.00 / 8.00
12 9 12b 1867 10 pa violet 50.00 / 9.00
13 11 13 1867 20 pa green £100 / 13.00
14 13 14 1867 1 pi red 11.00 / .90
15 14 15 1867 2 pi blue £100 / 15.00
16 15 16 1867 5 pi brown £300 / £180

 

I had avoided the complications of the variations in the 1872-1974 definitives at first, being content with the approach of the Gibbons Simplified catalogue. Now with more stamps in the collection and Gibbons Part 19 to hand (courtesy of Sidcup Library) I will make a start on the finer distinctions. The most important difference is simple to state and essential to include: the 1872 issue was clearly printed and neatly perforated; the 1874 issue was a mess - poorly printed on terrible paper and roughly perforated.

Beyond that, two of the 1872 set were issued in both Lithographed and Typographed form and throughout the issues there were two watermark types which are possible but difficult to tell apart. I will ignore the watermarks, but here they are, left, from SG v19. They are clearly different, but not enough to matter. There are also some perforation differences on SG40 and 41.

On now to the important differences, here are the three forms of the 1 pi red:

The difference between the SG31 of 1872 and the SG38 of 1874 is clear, but that between the two 1872 versions, SG27 (lithographed) and SG31 (typographed) is more subtle. I am too new to the subject to be of much help here, but the lithographed version seems to be more clearly defined than the typographed. SG states,

The typographed stamps [e.g. 31] show the coloured lines of the design impressed into the paper and the accumulation of ink along the margins of the lines. The lithographed stamps [e.g. 27] are essentially flat in appearance without the heaping of the ink. [2]

I will try to clarify this section as my knowledge improves. The prices below show the type I watermarks above and the Type II below from the 1996 SG v19 (for SG39, 40 and 41, the second price is for the 12½x13½ perforation version, not watermark II)

1872 Definitives

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U TI / TII (£ 1996)  
21 21m 26 1872 20 pa blue (lith) £120 / 45.00
£200 / 55.00
 
22 22m 27 1872 1 pi red (lith) £225 / 7.00
£500 / 15.00
23 19 28 1872 5 pa brown
see 1875 variant below
7.00 / 4.50
23.00 / 8.50
24 20 29 1872 10 pa mauve 6.00 / 3.00
6.00 / 3.00
25 21 30 1872 20 pa blue (typo) 42.00 / 3.50
70.00 / 19.00
 
26 22 31 1872 1 pi red (typo) 38.00 / .90
70.00 / 3.25
 
27 23 32 1872 2 pi yellow 75.00 / 3.50
16.00 / 3.75
28 24 33 1872 2½ pi violet 70.00 / 9.00
£700 / £190
29 25 34 1872 5 pi green £180 / 32.00
£275 / 55.00
 

 

1874 Definitives
 

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
32 20b 36 1874 10 pa mauve 8.00 / 2.75
9.50 / 2.50
 
33 21b 37 1874 20 pa blue 85.00 / 3.00
6.50 / 2.50
34 22b 38 1874 1 pi red 4.00 / .65
44.00 / 1.25
35 23b 39 1874 2 pi yellow 70.00 / 3.00
5.50 / 4.75
 
36 24b 40 1874 2½ pi violet
see 1879 surcharges below
8.50 / 5.00
38.00 / 19.00
37 25b 41 1874 5 pi green 55.00 / 19.00
£300 / £275

 

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
31 26 35 1875 5 pa brown
As SG28, but with PARA inscribed on the left hand side and the figure 5s inverted
7.00 / 3.75
38 27 42 1879 5 pa on 2½ pi violet (SG40)
surcharge in English and Arabic
6.00 / 6.00
39 28 43 1879 10 pa on 2½ pi violet (SG40)
surcharge in English and Arabic
10.00 / 10.00

 

1879 Definitives

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
40 29 44 1879 5 pa brown 1.00 / .30
41 30 45 1879 10 pa lilac 50.00 / 6.00
48 31 50 1881 10 pa claret 48.00 / 4.25  
49 32 51 1882 10 pa grey 7.50 / 1.75
50 33 52 1884 10 pa green .90 / .60
42 34 46 1879 20 pa blue 60.00 / 1.75
51 35 53 1884 20 pa red 11.00 / .50
43 36 47 1879 1 pi pink 24.00 / .10
52 37 54 1884 1 pi blue 5.50 / .20
44 38 48 1879 2 pi orange 20.00 / 1.00
84 39 55 1893 2 pi brown 12.00 / .10
45 40 49 1879 5 pi green 55.00 / 8.00
53 41 56 1884 5 pi grey 11.00 / .40

 

1884 Overprint

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
57 42 57 1884 20 pa on 5 pi green (SG49a)
surcharge in English and Arabic
7.00 / 1.25
57c 42a 57a 1884 Inverted overprint $62.50 / $57.50

 

1888 Definitives (see the 1897 Sudan overprints)

Balian Scott SG Date Notes Val M/U (£ 2001)  
79 43 58 1888 1m brown .80 / .10
80 44 59 1888 2m green .60 / .10
81 46 60 1892 3m purple 2.25 / 1.00
82 47 61 1893 3m yellow 1.75 / .10
89 49 62 1906 4m red 1.50 / .10
83 45 63 1888 5m red 1.75 / .10
85 48 64 1889 10 pi mauve 15.00 / .80

 

 

1. Catalogue numbers are included on this page for Balian's Stamps of Egypt catalogue. My copy of this invaluable book arrived too late to incorporate Balian numbers into the initial table design, but I will make a start on this page and may extend it in due course. The full reference is Stamps of Egypt, Leon Balian, 1998 first edn.

2. Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 19, Middle East. 5th edition, 1996, page 36