Unknown Morocco

Anyone have an ID on this Morocco Stamp

?

It is King Hassan, from the definitive set of 1968 (SG227).

Thsnk you

Finally in the mood to mess around with some of my world stamps. Found these Maroc? and Morocco agencies...plus I also have Marueco stamps....I am thinking that there is a lot to learn with Moroccan stamps. Time to dig into the history. Nora.

This is Scott # 172, from 1968.

Nora,

Maroc is the French name for Morocco. As for Marruecos, well, I leave that to you.

In the 1800s, Morocco allowed foreign countries to carry international mail. France opened offices and at the end of the 1800s, so did the UK. There also existed German offices. Spain had long had influences in Morocco. This stemmed from the 16th century when the Catholic Kings had re-conquered Spain a few decades earlier and colonised the Americas. In the 1800s, there were conflicts between Spain and Morocco that led to Spain holding the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla they still hold. France started to capture Morocco. Around 1907, Morocco had become a French territory with Spain establishing a protectorate in the north.

You can find stamps from Spanish, German, French and British post offices in Morocco. Early on, the British offices were run from Gibraltar. They issued stamps of Gibraltar overprinted for use at the Morocco Agencies.

From 1907, the British offices were run from London and British stamps were overprinted for use at the Morocco Agencies, primarily in port towns. They were overprinted with values in centimos and Peseta. Also, there were stamps only overprinted "Morocco Agencies" that were used for mail handed in at the British post offices. They did not have to enter the local mail system first. These stamps kept their sterling value. Later, stamps were overprinted with values in centimes and Franc for use in towns that were in the French zone.

To top it off, Tangier was made an international zone. There also exist stamps overprinted "Tangier."

What you have are Wilding stamps (check for different watermarks) with the English overprints. From 23 August 1950, all British stamps overprinted for use at British post office agencies that kept their sterling face value were also valid for use in the UK. The Wilding stamps were issued from 1952 until 1967. You also have a Wilding with an overprint in Spanish currency used in Tetuan. There is a George V stamp (check for watermark) with the French currency overprint. Then you have the 1936 stamps of King Edward 8. One is an English overprint, the other two are Spanish overprints.

If you want to know more about Morocco Agencies' stamps, or overprinted British stamps in General, have a look at this site:

http://www.gbos.org.uk/index.php/Country_List

Just the Spanish word for Morocco, used on some stamps issued for Spanish Morocco. Stamps also exist with the country name of Tanger and Tangier, and for a short time there was a stamp-issuing entity referred to as "Morocco Northern Zone."

Art- it's worth noting that the 1968 definitive set had a value issued significantly later, I believe the 75c. Many sets offered for sale are missing this value.

Mrita, the first page of your scan are all French protectorate of Morocco issues, usually found under French Morocco in catalogues/online. Most of them are from a series issued in 1933-34 (Scott #124+). The oldest one at top left is Scott #46. I'm not an expert, but certainly a big focus on my collection, feel free to ask if you'd like more detail/have others to show.

Thanks all. wow - a lot to learn around Morocco - very fascinating. I thought my German stamps were intricate and extensive - Morocco is not far behind. I will share more once I get them into the stock pages. :)