Iran Not Issued Stamps Overprinted "Provisoire 1319"

Those stamps were produced in 1902 but not issued (stampworld).
Does anyone know why they weren't issued? War?
I do have one with corner cancelation, so maybe some were issued after all?

I don't think they were not issued.

(from Stampworld.com)

You're right. I was referring to stamps number 181 and on in stampworld catalog number.

The "not issued" refers to the base stamp, not to the overprinted versions. The base stamps were typeset in Tehran by the Pharos printing firm due to a shortage of stamps. As a control measure they were hand stamped with various overprints by the Office of the Director General of Posts. There are many forgeries of both the base stamps and the overprints... The Persiphila catalogue devotes eight pages just to the Rosette issues you are asking about.

Are you sure, billsey? Items 181-216 are all unissued overprinted, at least by stampworld's description.

No, StampWorld just has an ambiguous entry there. I believe they mean 'overprinted on unissued stamps'. I tend to believe Scott and Persiphila over StampWorld here, and both catalogs have prices for used.

*BUMP*

We're talking here about Scott 247-90, the typeset issue with red flowerlike control overprint.

Billsey is correct, although the typeset stamp was never intended to be issued by itself without the counterstamp. The Iran PO did this more than once.

Here, they basically ran out of their stock of stamps printed by Enschedé in the Netherlands. Since the typeset part was printed by a local private company, they PO decided to handstamp/counterstamp the typeset stamp as a control/proof of genuineness.

The typeset stamp without overprint exists in quantity as printers waste and was used by forgers for their own red overprints. There are also lots of forgeries without the overprint. The brown paper or satin finish paper ones are all forgeries. If your overprint looks printed, that's a common forgery. Otherwise, there are still many, many forgeries of the red overprint as well as the other types.