The history of African stamps – like the continent itself – is the history of European colonization. The small modern country of Benin was, from 1892 to 1894, a French colony called Golfe de Benin. Stamps are available from these years for collectors. Golfe de Benin stamps represent a very specific geographic, temporal, and international moment in African stamp history. Working towards a complete set of Golf de Benin stamps is a great approach for a stamp enthusiast to take nowadays.
How to Identify Golfe de Benin Stamps
Golfe de Benin stamps are, in fact, the same general stamps used by all of the French territories of the time; the distinguishing factor is that they include an overprint for Benin. There are different varieties and it may take some special care to make sure the stamp you are interested in buying is really from the short-lived colony.
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The colonial stamps of France were printed with the inscription REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE COLONIES POSTES. This identifies a stamp as being from one of the French colonies, but tells you little else. For Golfe de Benin stamps, there are two overprints to be on the lookout for:
- GOLFE DE BENIN (no accent on the ‘E’ in ‘BENIN’)
- BÉNIN (shorter name, and with an accented ‘E’)
Collecting Golfe de Benin Stamps
There are different ways to go about collecting Golfe de Benin postage stamps, and your approach will be dictated by your reasons for interest in these philatelic gems. Do you collect French colonial stamps? Or colonial stamps from any country, worldwide? Maybe you want one stamp from each African area that had stamps used within its borders through the ages. It could be that you are interested in Benin stamps especially, or stamps from the areas around Western Africa.
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Your approach to selecting Golfe de Benin stamps too can vary based on your tastes. Do you just want one, to represent the colony in your collection? Do you want a complete set from some specific year – or from each available year? Do you concentrate on some specific color of stamp? (If so, you have several choices when it comes to French Benin stamps.)
Finding Golfe de Benin stamps for sale is, fortunately, easy. Many, many online stamp vendors frequently offer Golfe de Benin stamps as well as letters, envelopes, and cards (i.e., covers) sent to, from, or within the colony from 1892-1894. Watch the sales listings which change constantly to find the items that would fit in your collection. Also check out the section for Dahomey stamps, which is what Golfe de Benin was subsequently renamed, as well as modern Benin stamps made since the country became independent in 1975.
