The stamps without a country name were used at the British postal agencies in Muscat (Oman), Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Qatar. From 1960, they were also used in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
The set comes with two watermarks: Tudor Crown and E2R and Saint Edward's Crown with E2R. The ˝ Anna on ˝d and 12 Annas on 1s. 3d. only exist with the Tudor Crown watermark. The 1˝ Annas on 1˝d stamp with the Saint Edward's Crown watermark is very rare. Only one mint copy is known.
In 1957, the stamps with the Saint Edward's Crown watermark was issued with an overprint in new paise (NP). At that time, stamps for use in Qatar were overprinted with the name of the country. Stamps for use in Kuwait and Bahrain have always been overprinted with the name of the country.
The ˝ Anna stamp of Bahrain exists with the fraction of the overprinted value missing.
Below is the Tudor Crown set used at the British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia. Due to a shortage of stamps overprinted for Kuwait, they were also used in Kuwait for short periods.
