Turkish Identification Please

Hi all.

I believe these stamps are both Turkish and the Arabic numbers I think is '5'? Can anyone provide me with the Scott Catalogue number for them? They might both be the same stamps but with different shades (?)

Thanks a lot.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I am not an expert but I think these are the 1871 issue which had a relatively wide perf - anything from 11 down to 5, as opposed to the 1869 issue which was a fairly regular 13.5.

They are not simply shades. They are listed as:
Brown with a red-brown border
Deep brown with a red-brown border
Brown with a grey-brown border
Bistre-brown with a grey-brown border
Deep brown with a grey-brown border

They are both Scott #J34, Bistre Brown with Black Brown border. Although they are listed as postage due stamps, they were sold over the counter and could be used as normal stamps as well. The shade differences were typical on these issues.

Hard to tell the colors on the internet. The one on the left definitely looks like J34. The one on the right could also be J29. The easiest way to tell the colors is to look at the overprints, which are the same colors as the borders...

.

looks that way to me also.

I have a copy of J29, and the overprint and border are "Brick Red".

As an aside, I will be traveling to Turkey this weekend and will try to find some stamp shops and buy some Turkish stamps.
Mdroth: know any stamp shops in Ankara?

I didn't even get in to this forum at all yesterday :(

Thanks to all of you who have given me this information, which is much appreciated. I had finished cataloguing about 200 other Turkish stamps, but these two stamps got the better of me.

Chimo

Bujutsu

J29


J34

From my Website.

Hi Chris -

Sorry - can't help you at all. I'm in Istanbul & can't even tell you any shops in Istanbul! Best I can do is point you to the PTT (Post Office!) to get some current stuff. But I don't know Ankara very well at all - ask at your hotel & they might be able to point you to some...

Have a good trip - enjoy!

Hi all

Here is another stamp I am not sure if. I thought at first that it was one of the WW I Victory overprints, but, not so sure now. Can anyone help me identify this one in Scotts? Thanks a lot

Chimo

Bujutsu

sc 574, isn't it?

Thanks Blaamand.

I am still not certain because my stamp has a full "Tughra" overprint and the ones shown in Scott's for this set are half circles (??) Still, it could be.

Chimo

Bujutsu

The surcharge/overprint is for the Anniversary of His Majesty, right?

Hi Bujutsu,

This is Scott #574 from the long First Anniversary of the Sultan's Accession set.

You shouldn't mix up the toughra which sometimes in this set stands alone and at other times as here is reversed out on a a black circle with the semi-circular ornament used to hide part of the original design shown in Scott on Scott #581.

Bujutsu - you're welcome
Turkey is quite an exercise, especially with the overprinted, double-overprinted and 3rd time overprinted issues 1916-1918...
Uuuargh.... I just 'refreshed' my Turkey collection last autumn, so I presume it will be a few years until I face those challenges again.

btw - What I like the most about the Turkish stamps are to identify postmarks indicating that a stamp was used in a town that was once part of the former Ottoman Empire, but was lost by the Turks as the empire crumbled. That search has provided me with forerunners from several countries from Egypt around the middle east all the way up to Albania even. That's really a fascinating part of postal and worldwide history, straight there at those small pieces of paper. You should give it a try! (No, I did not try on the arabic postmarks, only 'normal' letter postmarks...)

Best of luck!

Hi Blaamand,

I agree about the fun to be had looking for Ottoman postmarks from what are now former Turkish towns.

I particularly look out for Ottoman postmarks from Crete although I don't see them very often.

I have Coles and Walker's books on Ottoman postmarks but even with these I can't read the postmarks in Old Turkish/Arabic script. Perhaps one day I#'ll make some progress but I doubt it!

Thanks Bujutsu for starting another interesting thread and sharing your stamps with us.

Best wishes,
Nigel