The Kingdom of Bahrain, a Middle Eastern island nation in the Persian Gulf, originally used stamps of British India from 1933 to 1947, with ‘BAHRAIN’ overprints. These included stamps featuring King George V and King George VI. When India (and Pakistan) won independence in 1947, British stamps with overprints were used instead in Bahrain. These continued to feature King George VI, and from 1952, Queen Elizabeth II.
Finally, in 1960, Bahrain began issuing its own stamps, although it was still under British rule. In 1966, Bahrain took over complete control of their postal affairs; in 1971 Bahrain won total independence from Britain.
So, collectors of Bahrain overprint stamps tend to focus on the years until 1960, and collectors of postage stamps specifically inscribed BAHRAIN tend to buy stamps from 1960 until now.
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In 1973, to raise funds for the Arab-Israeli War, Bahrain stamps featuring war tax overprints were used, and collectors often hunt for these stamps for their Bahraini stamp collections. Other special Bahrain stamps include the so-called Camel Post stamps, an unofficial group of bogus stamps issued between 1986 and 1990 showing drawings of camels. There have also been Bahrain maximum cards, first day covers (and regular covers), joint-issue stamps, and other special philatelic collectibles that are now available for collectors worldwide.
When shopping for Bahrain postage stamps for sale, note that sellers in different countries may use their own languages: Bahrain may be written Bahréin or Bahreïn, for example. Browse the current offers, and check back often as the selection in this section is updated frequently.
