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Contemporary Groupings

Country Categories: Africa since independence - Asia - Caribbean - Central and North America - Europe - Middle East - Oceania - Plebiscites - South America

Colonies, States, Occupation, Offices etc.: Argentina - Austria - Belgium - China - Colombia - Denmark - Ecuador - Finland - France - Germany - Great Britain - Greece - Hungary - India - Italy - Japan - Lithuania - Malaya - Netherlands - Nicaragua - Peru - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - Serbia - Spain - Switzerland - Turkey - US Entities - UN - Venezuela - World Firsts

The main continental categories are based on the stamp catalogues and work well in examining the first century (or perhaps half-century) of stamp issues but are of less use if a user wants to look at the first issues of the countries now in existence.
The treatment of Africa, based on Gibbons' three 1960s volumes of "Africa since independence" gives a view of the current countries with references back to their colonial philatelic past. This suggests that categories such as Oceania and the Caribbean are needed and they will be developed on this page.

Oceania (as listed in Wikipedia)
Country ID Date † Sequence # Notes
Australia 440 1st January 1913 8  
Fiji 163 1st November 1870 3  
French Polynesia 645 22nd October 1956 10  
Gilbert Islands 715 2nd January 1976 12  
Hawaii 31 1st October 1851 1  
Kiribati 720 12th July 1979 14  
Marshall Islands [328] 2nd May 1984 6  
Micronesia 736 12th July 1984 18  
Nauru 463 2nd September 1916 9  
New Zealand 57 18th July 1855 2  
Palau 730 10th March 1983 17  
Papua New Guinea 364 1st July 1901 7  
Samoa 190, 575 1st October 1877 4  
Solomon islands 714 4th August 1975 11  
Tonga 240 4th June 1970 5  
- Niuafo'ou 731 11th May 1983 5a  
Tuvalu 716 1st January 1976 13  
- Niutao 738 1985 13a  
Vanuatu 725 30th July 1980 16  
Zil Elwagne Sesel 724 20th June 1980 15  

† This is usually the date of independence, not necessarily the date of the first issue.

Oceania
UN map of Oceania / Melanesia

,
The Caribbean (as listed in Wikipedia)
Country ID Date † Sequence # Notes
Anguilla 693 4th September 1967 21  
Antigua and Barbuda 729 15th April 1982 26, 26a  
Aruba 739 1st January 1986 27  
Bahamas 81 10th June 1859 4  
Barbados 40 15th April 1852 2  
British Virgin Islands 133 1st December 1866 10  
Caribbean Netherlands 778 10th October 2010 28a  
Cayman Islands 358 1st November 1900 18  
Cuba 370 30th September 1902 19  
Curaçao 777 10th October 2010 28  
Dominica 177 4th May 1874 11  
Dominican Republic 123 19th August 1865 9  
Grenada and the Grenadines 100, 709 7th February 1974,
23rd December 1973		 8, 23  
Guadeloupe 218 28th February 1884 15  
Haiti 209 1st July 1881 14  
Jamaica 92 23rd November 1860 5  
Martinique 244 18th July 1886 16  
Montserrat 184 1st September 1876 12  
Puerto Rico 335 1st August 1898 17  
St. Kitts and Nevis 72623rd June 1980 24, 24a  
St. Lucia 94 18th December 1860 6  
St. Martin (French) - - - no stamps
St. Maarten (Netherlands) 779 10th October 2010 28b  
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 99, 708 27th October 1979,
14th November 1973		 7, 22  
Trinidad and Tobago 28, 202, 442 14th August 1851,
1st August 1879
1st January 1913 		1, 13, 20  
Turks and Caicos Islands 727 24th July 1981 25  
U.S. Virgin Islands 60 1st April 1856 3  

† This is usually the date of independence, not necessarily the date of the first issue.

Caribbean
CIA map of Caribbean from Wikipedia

Category
Country First Issue Sequence # Notes
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

Sources

Page created 19 Nov 2016 Page updated 19-Aug-2017