O is for Overprints
It is ironic that stamps with commercial overprints, once disregarded by most collectors and often thrown away, are now, in many cases, worth considerably more than the same stamps without such overprints.
A commercial overprint is simply the initials or name of an organisation that was printed on a stamp to be used for payment of stamp duty on receipts. Stamp duty on receipts was introduced in 1783 and, in 1853, set at a flat rate of 1d on each receipt of £2 or more. Inland Revenue stamps specifically for receipt purposes were issued from 10 October 1853 but it was not until the early 1860s that some organisations began to overprint the fiscal stamps with their identity.
It was the Customs and Inland Revenue Act of 1881 that really paved the way for overprinting stamps for receipt purposes. The Act provided that from 1 June 1881 the stamp duty could be paid by use of a penny postage stamp. This led to the issue on the 12 July 1881 of the 1d lilac inscribed ‘POSTAGE AND INLAND REVENUE’. Postage stamps were then used for receipt purposes until the tax was abolished on 31 January 1971.
Small wonder that from 1881 many organisations began overprinting their stamps. While there had been little temptation for dishonest employees to steal fiscal stamps this was not the case with postage stamps, which were commonly used to pay small bills as well as for postage. Organisations, therefore, used overprinting to prevent the theft of their stamps. The fact that the Post Office would not accept overprinted stamps for postage also acted as a deterrent.
It was obligatory to cancel stamps affixed to receipts and many organisations used pen, indelible pencil or rubber stamping to do so and it is common to find stamps cancelled in these ways. Which organisations, then, went to the expense of having stamps overprinted by outside contractors or by their own printing department? On the whole, it tended to be large organisations and those with a number of offices.
Electricity, gas and water companies were prolific users of commercial overprints, as were many local authorities and insurance companies. Some banks had overprinted stamps, as did many industrial and commercial organisations.
One of the pleasures of collecting these stamps is that there are always new overprints being discovered. There is, therefore, no definitive list but one collector has recorded over 4,800 different users of commercial overprints and over 8,000 face different stamps. The large format Inland Revenue fiscal stamps that were issued from 1860 are scarce with commercial overprints, while their
smaller-format successors issued from 1867 are more plentiful. The real commercial overprint rarities are the first postage stamps with commercial overprints, which were the Victorian 1d Venetian reds (SG166). They were the 1d stamps in use when The Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1881 came into effect on 1 June 1881 but just 42 days later on the 12 July the dual-purpose 1d lilac was issued. Only a handful of overprinted 1d Venetian red stamps have been seen, although there are undoubtedly more in existence waiting to be discovered.
Other commercial overprints on British postage stamps are found on Victorian 1d lilacs and the penny stamps of Edward VII and George V. With the increase in stamp duty from 1d to 2d on 1st September 1920, they are also to be found on the 2d definitive stamps of George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. No Edward VIII 2d stamps were issued, so during his reign organisations used any remaining stocks of George V 2d stamps or multiples of the Edward VIII halfpenny, 1d and 1½d stamps, none of which was ever overprinted. The 1950 Centenary 2d orange can occasionally be found with a commercial overprint.
The most common commercial overprints are clearly those of electricity and gas companies on Elizabethan stamps, unsurprising given the number of customers they had and the frequency of their billing. Other than these companies, the most commonly found are the stamps overprinted by the Prudential Assurance Company. The ‘Pru’ used them from Victorian times right through until the stamp duty was abolished.
Collections of commercial overprints can be enhanced in several ways. One is to collect them on their original receipts, some of which can be decorative and attractive. Another is to collect commercial overprints used illegally for postage. Early 1970s commercially overprinted stamps can be found on covers, as some organisations with stocks of such stamps were mindful of the abolition of the duty on receipts in 1971 and sought to use them up. The Post Office seems to have turned a blind eye to such usage. Earlier covers showing illegal usage, however, are much sought after by collectors.
Perhaps the most satisfying approach to enhancing a collection is to add an element of social history by finding out a little about the organisation that used a particular overprint. The internet is invaluable for this purpose, whether the organisation is still a household name or has long since become defunct.