"Independence Issue" Stamps: How Should We Classify Them

Hey folks,
one of my interests in the philatelic hobby is collecting stamps from short-lived Countries. Oftentimes, these are Countries that used to be colonies or which resulted from a change of governance type (i.e. Kingdom vs Republic, etc.).
Now, it is not unusual for such Countries to issue a set of commemorative stamps on the very day of their newfound independence or to celebrate the start of the new Government.

Most likely, this will be the first set that you find on the pages of that Country's album.
But is that actually correct? Since stamps are usually made available for sale (i.e. are issued) in Post offices in the morning, and since such declarations are usually signed and officialized during the day, shouldn't such sets technically be considered as issued during the timeframe of the preceding governance, rather than the new one?

I'll give an example. I have some early stamps from Montenegro. Montenegro used to be a monarchy from the mid-1800s up to WWI. Specifically, it was a Principality at first, then in 1910 it became a Kingdom.
On August 28, 1910 the Kingdom of Montenegro was officially declared. On the same day, a beautiful set of twelve engraved stamps was issued to celebrate the proclamation of the Kingdom. Even today, August 28 is celebrated in contemporary Montengero.
I have always put this set, together with the definitive set of 1913, on pages dedicated to the issues of the "Kingdom of Montenegro". However, I recently saw a short period documentary which shows the Prince/King about to sign the Declaration: by the look of it, it was most likely early evening. I assume the stamps had been sold since morning, so wouldn't it be more correct, technically, to place them together with the Principality issues?

I know these questions are probably quite silly, but so is stamp collecting in general, haha!

Let's follow your thought. How did the stamps appeared to the post office? They were designed, printed and distributed before that. So, it was the result of a long preparation. How did the new government appear? Again, as the result of long preparation. Should you call that new government the last government of the old state? No. Then why would you call the stamps the last issue of the old state?

If the change was not the result of a peaceful process but a coup, rest assured the stamps were released after the coup,not before it.

My thoughts of this issue.

Consider, that in many cases the signatures and the ceremonies surrounding them are exactly that: entirely ceremonial. The times are chosen out of convenience or to ensure maximum exposure, etc, and the to-do just memorializes something that has already happened.

So, Montenegro's independence was recognised in 1878. The ruling prince woke up on 28 August 1910, celebrating his Golden Jubilee and his birthday present was that he was proclaimed King. Other than that, nothing changed on that day.

What exactly is your point?

Most countries that become independent do so at the start of the day, not at mid day. Hong Kong was handed over to China at midnight.

Recently Barbados became a Republic at midnight. They even held the ceremony at midnight local time. Of course, the country did not change. Barbados remains Barbados.

The First Issues Collectors Club has many collectors that collect change of government issues. Check us out www.firstissues.org email us and we can end you a copy of the journal. Www.firstissues.org

Thank you all for the replies!

I like to sort stamps by date, rather than by type, and to divide them by "State entity", so classifying them correctly is a must for me.
For example, the first stamps I collected were the stamps of the Republic of Italy. After WWII, Italy went from being a Kingdom to being a Republic, which was declared on June 18, 1946. However, also stamps issued in 1945 have traditionally been considered Republican issues and this has always bothered me a bit.


Anyway, while we are on this subject, I'd like to ask your opinion on the following issue.
I collect stamps from the first Republic of Austria (1918-1938). Up until now, I have been dividing them into issues of German-Austria (1918-19) and issues of the Republic of Austria proper (1919-38).
I seem to understand, though (although it is controversial), that when it became a one-party Republic and its name was changed to Federal State of Austria (1934-38), this should be considered its own State entity.
Is there any expert on that area/timeframe that could shed some light on this?




Thank you, NumOnes. I checked out the website and it indeed looks quite interesting and informative!

Strictly speaking, you are correct regarding Austria. While Miklas was president from 1928-38 (offering some continuity, I suppose), the nation changed its official name, form of government, and even its national anthem in 1934. So academically, a different nation-state. Practically, few Austrians these days make a distinction; similarly, no one really thinks about Deutsch-Österreich as anything unique or separate from just Österreich. The distinctions are really just pre-WWI/WWI, interwar, Anchsluss/WWII, and modern era.