Penny Black First Issues Collectors Club of stamps and philatelic material

Home - Catalog - Categories - Index - Journal - Exhibits - Auctions - Forgeries - Join

first issues > countries > south russia, kuban cossack republic

South Russia: Kuban Cossack Republic

November, 1918

South Russia 1c  

South Russia Scott #24
  South Russia Scott #24 xxx

Perforated 14 x 14½ and imperforate, wove paper, no watermark, typographed.
Printed by Gubernia Typography at Ekaterinodar.

Ekaterinodar issues. Surcharge on Russian stamps of 1909 - 17
Description # issued Scott #
Perforated 14 x 14½
25 kopeck on 1 kopeck orange
 5,594,400 20
50 kopeck on 2 kopeck gray green
 1,500 21
1 rubel on 3 kopeck red, small ovpt.
 380,000 to 427,000 23
1 rubel on 3 kopeck red, large ovpt.
 2,560,000 24
3 rubel on 4 kopeck rose
 2,000 to 10,000 25
Imperforate
25 kopeck on 1 kopeck orange
 5,600 35
50 kopeck on 2 kopeck gray green
 4,930,700 36
1 rubel on 3 kopeck red, small ovpt.
 140,000 to 190,000 38
1 rubel on 3 kopeck red, large ovpt.
 2,560,000 39

All issue quantities are approximate.

The Cossacks of the Kuban, similarly to those of the Don, formed an anti-Bolshevist, ethnic republic in 1918. Although later absorbed into the Special Conference on South Russian Government, the Kuban Republic successfully insisted on maintaining postal autonomy. As a result, the Kuban surcharges were in continuous use throughout 1919, and postally used examples of them exist in much greater numbers than those of the Don republic.

The first Kuban issue surcharges (necessary due to the inflation of the Czarist paper currency in use) were made at the Gubernia Typography at Ekaterinodar on various printings of the Russian Arms types and issued in November of 1918.

Records were kept of the numbers of stamps surcharged, but no distinction was made between perforated and imperforate stamps. It is worth noting that the number of 50 kopecks on 2 kopecks perforated is estimated to have been no more than 1,500 copies (if that many), the 3 rubels on 4 kopecks on no more than 10,000 (possibly as few as 2,000), and the 25 kopecks on 1 kopeck imperforate no more than 5,600. Copies with inverted, doubled etc. surcharges are printers' waste, separated out before issue and sold to stamp dealers and favored officials to raise hard currency for the war effort.

The 3 rubels on 4 kopecks in particular has been extensively forged. Forgeries of all exist.

Get an overview of the South Russia issues around 1918 - 1920.

All information on this page was generously contributed by Bill Wagner (WSRP, BSRP). He, and he alone, deserves all credit. Any errors in the presentation are solely the responsibility of the webmaster.

FI ref: 474 Page credit: JA

Page created 19 Feb 2014 Page updated 04-Jul-2017