Postage stamps and postal history of South Moluccas

This article surveys the postage stamps and postal history of the Republic of South Moluccas. Historic or political incidents can be found in the main article.

tamp issues

Although the Republic of South Moluccas did not issue its own postage stamps, several stamps bearing the country's name can be found. They are so-called bogus stamps, which are private stamp issues and were not issued by the postal administration of the South Moluccas.

Three bogus stamp issues of the Republic of South Moluccas can be distinguished:
*Overprints
*Stamp issues of the exile government in the Netherlands
*Stamps from the "Österreichische Staatsdruckerei" (Austrian National Print Office), which were ordered and sold by New York stamp dealer Henry Stolow.

Overprints

In 1950 17 stamps of the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia were overprinted with "Republik Maluku Selatan". Some philatelists argue that they probably are locally used stamps. The majority assumes stamp forgeries.

tamp issues of the exile government in the Netherlands

Several one- and three-coloured stamp issues of South Moluccas lacking the date of issue are known. They were probably sold by the exiled government in the Netherlands. These issues should announce the archipelago and flag of the Republic of South Moluccas, point out the concern of this exile government, and win target audiences such as the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the United Nations (UN), and General Douglas MacArthur for their goals. But there are also stamps for which no unambiguous reason can be given for their issuing.

tamps ordered and sold by Henry Stolow

In 1955 approximately 150 coloured triangular or rectangular stamp forgeries of New York and Munich stamp dealer Henry Stolow (1901–1971) appeared on the market without a date of issue. These stamp issues were printed in the "Österreichische Staatsdruckerei" without reviewing the legality. These issues do not bear any hint of the issue date like German stamps for example. Therefore it is completely futile to assign them to special years of issue, as is sometimes done. They were never used for postage, so there are only mint copies.

In 1991 [http://www.peter-doerling.de/Latein/Phantasiemarken.htm Peter Doerling] writes:

Pricing of these stamp issues

Respected stamp catalogs and stamp dealers do not note stamps from the "Republic Maluku Selatan". No valid stamps of that region are known to the Michel editorial department (Information from Erich H. Slaby on February 2, 2005).

Regarding the coloured stamp issues sold since 1955, the Michel editorial department informs (Information from Erich H. Slaby on February 1, 2005).:

Ulrich Häger writes in the "Großes Lexikon der Philatelie" (Great Encyclopaedia of Philately) under the keyword "Maluku Selatan":

The Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue writes under the keyword "South Moluccas":

Literature

*Ulrich Häger: "Großes Lexikon der Philatelie", Bertelsmann Lexikon-Verlag, Gütersloh-Berlin-Munich-Vienna 1973 (p. 275 "Maluku Selatan", p. 449 "Henry Stolow").
*"Michel Rundschau" 5/1988 (p. 362 "Maluku Selatan"), 7/1988 (p. 534–536 "Maluku Selatan").

External links

* English articles about the overprints:
** [http://www.linns.com/reference/entities/entity_s.asp?uID= Artikel "South Moluccas (1950)" at linns.com]
** [http://www.sandafayre.com/atlas/indon.htm Artikel "South Moluccas (Republik Maluku Selatan)" at Sandafayre Online]
* English articles about the stamp issues of the exile government in the Netherlands:
** [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/seasia/moluckor.html World History at KMLA]
** [http://www.newsindo.com/siar/rms.html Overview of the stamp issues of the exile government]

*

** Examples of the stamp issues of the exile government in the Netherlands:
*** [http://indonesianewsonline.com/rms/molucst01.jpgArchipelago and flag] , [http://indonesianewsonline.com/rms/ma50_upu_p.jpgUPU] , [http://indonesianewsonline.com/rms/molucst02.jpgUnited Nations] , [http://www.stabi.hs-bremerhaven.de/gbs2/whkmla/stamps/seasia/molucst03.jpgGeneral Douglas MacArthur] , [http://home.att.net/~rickscott/Unidentified/pix/Unk196.jpgOverprint - 1] , [http://home.att.net/~rickscott/Unidentified/pix/Unk197.jpgOverprint - 2]
** Examples of the stamps, ordered and sold by Henry Stolow:
*** [http://www.hfc-hersfeld.de/hfc/marken/scans/2161.jpgfruit bats] , [http://www.kingfisher-stamps.org/image/ss477.jpgkingfisher] , [http://ca.geocities.com/clajeux/Belamcanda_chinensis_MalukuSelatan.jpgBelamcanda chinensis] , [http://www.geocities.com/aildoux/Rhoeo_discolor_MalukuSelatan.jpgRhoeo discolor]