The Republic of Botswana, on the northern border of South Africa and also bordering Zimbabwe and Namibia (and, barely, Zambia) has issued its own Botswana stamps since its 1966 independence; before that the area was called the Bechuanaland Protectorate, overseen by the British. (A 1975 Botswana stamp commemorated the pre-1966 era by depicting a map of the Protectorate.)
The area now called Botswana began, as far as stamp-collecting is concerned, as British Bechuanaland in 1885, an entity which first issued stamps in 1888. However, two smaller areas had broken from Botswana: Stellaland (which called itself the Republic of Stellaland) and Goshen (which merged with Stellaland to form the United States of Stellaland). This version of Stellaland issued stamps from 1883 — 1885; these can be classified as the first stamps in Botswana’s history.
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After securing control of Stellaland and the rest of Botswana to the Cape of Good Hope, Britain declared the area to be called British Bechuanaland, and the stamps (from 1888) issued thus featured special British colonial stamps imprinted with the name of the area. After the southern part of British Bechuanaland broke off to (eventually) become South Africa, the remaining land became known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
It was as the Bechuanaland Protectorate that the country existed for many decades; during this time, both overprinted British stamps as well as actual “Bechuanaland Protectorate”-inscribed stamps were used. This period of African and British colonial history has provided some of the most collectible stamps in the collecting world — not to mention an endless array of fantastic covers and related philatelic material.
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In 1966, Botswana gained full independence from Britain, and since then has issued its own stamps. The full history of Botswana stamps is inextricably linked to the colonial history of southern Africa (including the country of South Africa), and is at once instructive and fun to delve into. Our numerous Batswana stamp listings in this section can be sorted in different ways, so you can easily find some great stamps to add to your collection.
Botswana stamps come in a variety of types that appeal to collectors of different approaches. There have been airmail pieces, and since 1967, several postage due stamps from Botswana. There are also the usual collectors’ philatelic items from Botswana, such as minisheets and souvenir sheets, maximum cards, interesting first day covers, and joint issues with other countries. There are also subcategories of collectible Botswana stamps including unhinged stamps, full sheets, errors and misprints, and a large number of unique and interesting covers (postcards, letters, envelopes, et cetera) from all areas and eras, including the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the earlier-still Stellaland.
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Collectors of colonial British stamps (or colonial African stamps) will be attracted by the Botswana stamps for sale listings; buyers who are completing a collection of modern countries of the world (or of Africa) will also find much to pique the interest in our for sale listings.
Our sales offers change daily, so come back often to see the newest Botswana stamps.
