The Stamps and Postal History of Netherlands Colonies

Under this section, we list stamps, sets, covers / postal history, essays and proofs and of course stamp collections from Aruba, Curacao, Netherland Antilles, Netherland Indies including the Japanese Occupations of Java, Sumatra and the Japanese Naval Control area, Netherland New Guinea and Suriname. The first stamp of the Netherland Indies was the 10c carmine imperf issued on 1st April 1864 although it can be argued that the ‘Landmailzegel’ (Land Mail Stamps) of 1845–1846 should be included however the postal charge and date had to be added by hand to those labels so they are not strictly stamps but they are popular with stamp collectors and postal historians alike.

For a powerful seagoing nation the Netherlands did not hold vast overseas territories by the time stamps were being issued and this in part explains the popularity of these colonies amongst collectors who can form comprehensive collections relatively easily in contrast to the British, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish colonial issues.

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Netherlands Colonies Stamps