Nyassa Stamps
Every Nyassa and Nyassa Company stamp ever issued
The 1921 issues - King Manuel II overprints and new definitives
 The ¼c overprint
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 The ½c overprint
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There were two issues in 1921, the first yet another overprint of a previous issue, the second a completely new set which, fortunately, threw out of the window all of the various surcharges and overprints which had come before it. To skip straight to the second issue further down the page click here. The first 1921 issue The first issue was an overprint of the King Manuel 1911 issue. These had, when issued, already been overprinted with the word "REPUBLICA" in red to mark the end of the monarchy, but with the advent of the Portuguese escudo on 22 May 1911, the real, the currency in which the 1911 stamps had been issued, had become obsolete. As a result, in 1921 the stamps were surcharged with their new values - for all but two of the stamps this was done in black ink, but for the 5r (which became the ½c value) and the 300r (which became the 1½c value) this was done in red ink. Worth mentioning is an unpriced rare error of a ¼c overprint on 2½r where the overprint is in red rather than black. As with the 1903 issue, there are two different sets of surcharges. One set is surcharges that were printed in Portugal, and thus are known as the "Lisbon surcharges", and the other is surcharges that were printed by Waterlows, and are therefore known as the "London surcharges" - the pictures on this page are of London surchages. From what I can gather, the Lisbon surcharges were the only stamps which were actually sent out for postal usage in Nyassa, and are more rare, whereas the London surcharges were printed by Waterlows, as usual, for the collectors' market rather than actual postal purposes and therefore exist in greater quantities - all used examples of the London surcharges are therefore cancelled to order. Unlike the 1903 issue, however, it is considerably more difficult to tell the Lisbon and the London surcharges apart. Probably the best way is to look at the text of the two side-by-side - to do so click here. Errors, misprints, inverts, forgeries, etc... For the Lisbon surcharges, inverted surcharges exist on the ½c,
1c, 1½c, 2½c, 3c and 12c values, and double surcharges exist on the
¼c, ½c and 2c values. No errors or misprints are known to exist for the London surcharges - in particular there is no known London surcharge error where a 2½r is surcharged with ½c, rather than ¼c. Catalogue details (Lisbon surcharges) Afinsa nos. 82 to 93. The Lisbon surcharges catalogue at around £2.50 per stamp, mint. Catalogue details (London surcharges) The London surcharges catalogue at around £1.00 per stamp, mint. |
 The 1c overprint
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 The 1½c overprint
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 The 2c overprint
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 The 2½c overprint
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 The 3c overprint
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 The 5c overprint
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 The 7½c overprint
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 The 10c overprint
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 The 12c overprint
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 The 20c overprint
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The second 1921 issue Thankfully, since things had been steadily been becoming more and more complicated, the second issue of 1921 wiped the slate clean and started everything from scratch. Out went all references to past kings, to old currencies, and in came a new definitive set of 20 stamps, the last that Nyassa was to issue. As before, the stamps are all printed in bi-colour. The majority have a black surround, but seven have coloured surrounds. In all cases the top of the stamp bears the words "Companhia do Nyassa" (Nyassa Company) and "Correios" (Postage). All but the top six values have the figures of the stamp's value in each of the bottom corners, with the word "centavos" in the center, with the top six values having the value in the bottom right hand corner, The stamps also reuse older designs - in ascending order they feature four giraffe values, five values featuring Vasco da Gama, five values featuring his caravel, the St. Gabriel, four values featuring the zebra from earlier issues and the two highest values featuring a sailing ship. For the first time since the 1901 issue the camels fail to make an appearance. Errors, misprints, inverts, forgeries, etc... I am not aware of any, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any! Catalogue details Afinsa nos. 106 to 125. The stamps catalogue at around £0.90 per stamp, mint. |
 The ¼c value
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 The ½c value
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 The 1c value
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 The 1½c value
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 The 2c value
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 The 2½c value
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 The 4c value
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 The 5c value
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 The 6c value
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 The 7½c value
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 The 8c value
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 The 10c value
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 The 15c value
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 The 20c value
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 The 30c value
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 The 40c value
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 The 50c value
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 The $1 value
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 The $2 value
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 The $5 value
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