Cameroon stamps

History of Cameroon stamps

Cameroon's postal history began in 1887, when Germany, who had established a trading post at Douala in 1868, began using German stamps. 'Kamerun', as it was then spelled, became a full-fledged German colony; in 1897 Germany began overprinting "Kamerun" on their stamps. These are the earliest Cameroonian stamps for collectors today.

The first stamps issued solely for Cameroon came in 1900: using the pfennig as their currency, German-issued Kamerun stamps had a nautical theme, depicting ships on the high seas in a variety of striking colors and beautiful designs. Germany's Kamerun stamp issues continued in this vein until World War I.

After World War I, the colony was split between France and Britain. The British used stamps from colonial Nigeria in what they called 'Cameroons'; in 1960 they began overprinting these stamps with "CAMEROONS U.K.T.T." (United Kingdom Trust Territory).

The French, who used the spelling 'Cameroun', issued several stamps during their colonization of Cameroon, and these stamps are the focus of many interested collectors now. Some early French colonial stamps were from other French-controlled areas, overprinted with "CAMEROUN Occupation Francais."

French Cameroun became independent in 1960, followed by the British area in 1961; the two regions merged into an independent Cameroon. Since the time of independence, Cameroon has issued its own stamps.

Cameroon stamps for sale

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