The first collectible stamps of Malta were British issues (mostly; other countries’ stamps were used as well) from 1854 with a cancel stamp that read A25. There were many varieties of these, but the first true Maltese stamps were issued in 1860, while Malta was still a colony of the United Kingdom.
Through the reigns of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and for the first part of King George V‘s reign, Maltese stamps continued to be issued fairly uneventfully. In 1922, stamps were overprinted by a defiant Malta with the words ‘SELF GOVERNMENT’ thanks to an independence movement and riots towards that goal.
Malta remained under the British, however, and the stamp program continued. Stamps were again overprinted with ‘SELF-GOVERNMENT’, this time adding ‘1947’ to the overprint, during the reign of King George VI. Stamps in 1953 were again overprinted in this way as Queen Elizabeth II began her reign.
See also: Malta coins: Collectibles from a Mediterranean island
In 1964, Malta gained full independence within the Commonwealth, and in 1974 became an independent republic. Stamps have continued to be issued, often including special collectors’ pieces that can be found in the marketplace with relative ease. Check our current selection of Malta postage stamps for sale here, and come back to see new listings added daily.